
Book __-__ 

CoipglitlJ? 



CQB3UGHT DEPOSm 







CT^CXa/v/JjC" b^\\/^Ar\»Ov^t^ 




Harriet 


Hubbard 


Ay er's B 


1 o o k ^^dt 


A Complete 
Treatise or 


and Au th e n t ic 
I the Laws of 


HEALTH ^^^ BEAUTY 


Including Many Carefully Tested 
Formulas Hitherto Unpublished 

GOOD HEALTH 

HOW TO PRESERVE IT 

GOOD LOOKS 

HOW TO OBTAIN THEM 

With full Instructions for Physical Culture, 
Facial, Scalp and General Massage 


By HARRIET 


HUBBARD AYER 


Superbly 


«3* 

• 

Illustrated \ ;'* 


HOME TOPICS 


BOOK COMPANY 


246 Fifth Avenue New York 



74876 

|i.ii)rary of Congre^^^H) 

Two Copies Receiw-d i 

NOV IS mo I 

Copj/ right eiitr^ I 

FIRST copy. 

2r.d Copy Delivered! to t 



^K 



^^^ 
.(\^^ 



Copyright, 1S99, by 
Harriet Hubbard Ayer 



AH ris:his and translation reserved 



Entered at Stationers' Hall, Londoyi, Eng. 



The illustrations in this work, from orig- 
inal drawings and photographs, are protected 
by copyright, and their reproduction in any 
form is unlawful ; and notice is hereby given 
th^t anyone guilty of infringing the copyright 
'thereof will be dealt with as the law directs. 




2)ebication <^ 




HIS BOOK, which 
had never been 
written save for 
the repeated demands for 
such a volume, is dedicated 
with much affection to my 
countless correspondents, 
who are unknown to me per- 
sonally but whose friendship 
and confidence it is my hap- 
piness to possess. 





ymm}' 



CHAPTER I 



TJIJEJ WILL 0' THE WISP, BEAUTY 

The desire of every woman to be beautiful — Her constant pur- 
suit through life — How a woman is robbed of good looks 
— Her valiant fight against time — Desire to be beautiful 
inspired by man^ — Plain women not preferred by the oppo- 
site sex — An actual case in point — Beauty the supreme 
power of woman ^ — Maintenance of beauty after maturity 
means purity and temperance — Women should not always 
be satisfied with Nature. ....... 



PAGE 



35 



CHAPTER II 



THE ART OF REMAINING YOUNG 



Age a matter of feeling, not of years — Some famous women who 
have kept their beauty long past middle life — Two modern 
instances — Women under thirty need not grow old — 
Those fifty and over may recover their beauty — No virtue 
in plainness — The world's most beautiful women have been 
also the most powerful — Beauty and goodness should walk 
hand in hand — No royal road to beauty — Care and com- 
mon sense alone required — Good housekeepers often neg- 
lect themselves — Women under thirty need no cosmetics 
— Those older fully justified in their use . 

(5) 



41 



6 CONTENTS 

CHAPTER III 
THE 8IN OF BOWDINESS 



PAGE 



Danger of drifting into dowdiness — Some women never look well 
dressed — The dowd not confined to any station in life — 
After marriage many women neglect their personal appear- 
ance — Dowdy wives in danger of losing their husbands — 
A grave mistake for a woman to neglect her looks — Almost 
criminal in a married woman — Peace and happiness of the 
whole family may be involved — Lack of time not a valid 
excuse — Less important things may well be neglected, if 
necessary — Few women need be plain looking — Virtue and 
loveliness — Depraved women never truly lovely. . . 50 

CHAPTER IV 

THE WELL-GROOMED WOMAN 

What the expression means — Cosmetics not a factor — The bath 
a prime requisite — The hair, face, hands and apparel — 
Middle-aged women, especially, should be well groomed — 
An example in support of this statement — A woman of 
fifty who made herself look young — A husband's suscepti- 
bility at forty-five — Effect of tailor-made gowns and pretty 
apparel — A fresh and wholesome appearance quite as at- 
tractive — Dress alone not the touchstone — The author's 
own experience — Satisfaction derived from an observance 
of hygienic rules. ........ 57 

CHAPTER V 

CLEANLLNESS THE HAND 31 AID OF HEALTH 

4.ND BEAUTY 

Any woman may retain her good looks — How she may defy the 
years to come and collect interest on her past — ''Cleanli- 
ness next to Godliness" — What it means to be clean — 
The bondage of soap and water a blessing — The transfer- 



CONTENTS 



PAGE 



mation of plain, sallow, bad-complexioned women — Meaning 
of a real hygienic bath — Value of the fleshbrush and face 
scrubbing brush — About pure soap — Expense not worth 
considering — Tepid and hot baths — Friction after the bath 
— Benefits from sea bathing. . . . . •. .64 



CHAPTER VI 

CLEANLINESS THE HANDMAID OF HEALTH 
AND BEAUTY— Concluded 

More about the bath — Bran and almond-meal bags — Recipe for 
home manufacture — A fragrant bath liquid — Best time to 
take a bath — Temperature of the bath — Special efficacy of 
hot baths — Sara Bernhardt on the value of hot water — 
More about pure soap — A delicious bath perfume — Hun- 
gary water and aromatic vinegar — How to make the flesh 
firm and smooth — The Turkish bath — Value of the sweat- 
ing and scrubbing process — Sulphur baths ^ — How to take 
a sulphur bath at home — The electric bath — Aromatic 
baths for nervous women — The beauty bath — The gelatine 
bath — Bath of the aristocracy — Even age is charming when 
clean and wholesome ........ 71 



CHAPTER VII 

THE HAIB 

Its structure and growth — When it will reproduce itself — The 
sure proof of baldness — How the quantity, quality and 
texture of the hair are governed — Vigorous circulation nec- 
essary to luxuriant hair — Lack of care the chief reason for 
falling hair — Necessity for cleanliness, ventilation and fric- 
tion — About washing the hair — Causes of unhealthy hair 
— Harmful hair restorers and tonics — Gray hair in men 
and women — Beneficial results from scalp massage — The 
electric brush for scalp circulation — The coloring matter of 
the hair — Why the hair changes color. .... 86 



8 CONTENTS 

CHAPTER VIII 
THE HAIR — Continued 



PAGE 



The use of peroxide of hydrogen — The bondage of golden hair 

Bleached hair never permanent — Why the roots will not 
bleach — Method of applying peroxide — Danger of using 
ammonia — Skill necessary in properly applying peroxide — 
How to get back the original color — How to make lifeless 
hair bright — Treatment not adapted to the eyebrows — How 
to produce Titian red with peroxide — Homemade hair dyes 
not advised — A once famous dye. ..... 92 



CHAPTER IX 

THE HAIE—Conti7iued 

Affections of the hair — Dandruff the result of uncleanliness — 
Lotion for excessive scurf — To keep the hair and scalp 
healthy — Scrupulous cleanliness necessary — A shampoo for 
dandruff — How to cleanse the scalp — Eczema of the scalp — 
Remedies for falling hair — The Jabarondi tonic — Treat- 
ment for falling hair after fever — Castor-oil hair tonic — 
On loosening the hair at night — Care of children's hair — 
Foreign remedies for falling hair. ..... 101 



CHAPTER X 

THE HAIR— Continued 

Superfluous hair — The mortification of women with beards and 
moustaches — Electrolysis the only certain cure — Depila- 
tories only a temporary remedy — How disfiguring facial 
defects were once considered — The case of Charity Ross — 
An effective and harmless depilatory — How to remove su- 
perfluous hair from the arms — Hair on the arms may be 
bleached with peroxide of hydrogen . . . . .107 



CONTENTS • 9 

CHAPTER XI 
THE HAIR— Concluded 



PAGE 



Lovelocks of the summer maid — Desirability of curling hair — 
Artificial methods for making the hair wavy — Curling fluids 
rarely satisfactory — Rubber curlers or curling iron prefer- 
able — Recipe for curline — Hair curled to last three weeks 
— Description of the process — Secretage or permanent curl- 
ing fluid — Process highly objectionable . . . .113 

CHAPTER XII 

SCALP MASSAGE 

Troubles with the hair which are incident to defective scalp circu- 
lation — Scalp massage an excellent means to restore circu- 
lation — Instructions regarding the treatment — How to 
relieve a nervous headache — Scalp massage for congestive 
headaches — Why men and women lose their hair — How 
to brush the hair — Scalp massage for baldness and falling 
hair — Danger of choosing an unskilled operator. . . 121 

CHAPTER XIII 

THE COMPLEXION 

Most American women have poor skins — Few complexions are 
free from blemishes — Amount annually spent for cosmetics 
in the United States — The pastry habit — Evil effect of 
too much saleratus — -Value of bread-and-milk luncheons — 
Prevalence of pimples — Fossati Cream for pimples — How 
to treaty muddy and pimply skins — Sulphur soap for pim- 
ples. . . 125 

CHAPTER XIV 

THE COMPLEXION— Continued 

Freckles — General comment on these disfiguring blemishes — 
All skin troubles curable in the absence of hereditary ail- 



10 CONTENTS 



PAGE 



ment — Freckles not unclean like blackheads or pimples — 
The two classes of freckles — Summer freckles — Cold or 
winter freckles — Frequent bathing, scrubbing and rough 
friction for summer freckles — A simple additional remedy 

— An accompanying lotion — The Medical Record's remedy 
for obstinate freckles — Special ointment to be used in con- 
junction with the latter — The hydrozone and glycozone 
treatment — Softening unguent for chapped face — Lotion 
for dry and scaly skin — Tan and sunburn — Moth patches 

— Formula for face bleach ....... 129 



CHAPTER XV 
THE COMPLEXION— Continued 

About blackheads — A form of acne — Each speck marks an ob- 
structed gland outlet — The black speck simply dirt — Pa- 
rasitic character of blackheads — Danger in forcibly removing 
blackheads — Can be easily cured with proper treatment — 
How to proceed — Treatment for obstinate blackheads — A 
new remedy for blackheads — Various forms of acne — Con- 
fluent acne — Acne indurata — Value of face scrubbing in 
acne — Treatment applies to men also — Acne molluscum 
— Treatment for acne molluscum. ..... 137 



CHAPTER XVI 

THE COMPLEXION— Continued 

Eczema and skin eruptions — Any eruption fatal to beauty — 
Cleanliness the most important requisite — The process of 
skin decay and reproduction — The consequence of congested 
pores — The most stubborn cases of skin diseases yield to 
cleansing and friction — Case of a young Swedish girl — 
Remarks on eczema — Even inherited skin disease may be 
palliated — General treatment in eczema — Dr. Cazenave's 
remedy — Dr. Monin's lotion — Dr. Cooley's treatment — 
Eczema ointment ......... 142 



CONTENTS 11 

CHAPTER XVII 
THE COMPLEXION— Continued 



PAGE 



The flirtatious washrag — Few women know how to properly 
wash their faces — A face-washing class — The old and the 
new way — Scientific natural method for keeping the pores 
free — How the average gentlewoman washes her face — 
How to really free the skin from impurities — The thorough 
scrub with hot water, soap and a brush — The soap itself to 
be carefully rinsed off — Face steaming — Danger in the 
process — Hot cloths considered more efficacious — Lotion to 
be used after face steaming. ...... 151 

CHAPTER XVIII 

THE COMPLEXION— Continued 

Technical description of a wrinkle — All wrinkles do not indicate 
age — An unerring record of the past — They tell of good 
and bad attributes — The countenance reflects the character 

— Lines which reveal the gossip, the talker, the malicious, 
cynical and fretful woman — Wrinkles reflecting tempera- 
ment hard to remove — General treatment for wrinkles — 
Attention to diet of great importance — Effectiveness of 
properly administered massage — Electricity an excellent 
adjunct — Tissue building often required — Formula for skin 
food 157 

CHAPTER XIX 

THE COMPLEXION— Continued 

Swedish system the only reliable and lasting method — Relaxed 
facial muscles must be built up — Services of a skillful 
masseur necessary — Knowledge of anatomy indispensable 

— General observations on massage — Explanation of the 
various motions — How to remove a droop in the eyelid — 
To correct laughing wrinkles — The several facial muscles 

— What causes sunken cheeks — To obliterate lines of care 

— How to treat the neck and throat — Treatment not un- 
pleasant. .......... 170 



12 CONTENTS 



CHAPTER XX 
THE COMPLEXION— Continued 



PAGE 



The gentle art of face skinning ^ — ^Description of the process — 
Probably originated with the Greeks — An extremely pain- 
ful operation — Attended with some danger — The treat- 
ment very expensive — Improvement in appearance un- 
questionable — All lines of character obliterated — About 
birthmarks — Their removal possible in many cases — Dis- 
figuring scars may also be wholly or partially r'emoved. . 182 

CHAPTER XXI 

THE COMPLEXION— Concluded 

The summer girl — The hot season need not be especially trying 
to the complexion — A few simple precautions necessary — 
The daily bath an essential — A lotion for tan — Cucumber 
cream — Effect of too much meat and starchy food — For- 
mula for soap paste for the skin — Beauty cream — Milk 
vinegar — A simple summer lotion — Strawberries and spinach 
for the complexion. ........ 190 

CHAPTER XXII 

THE EYES AND EYEBBOWS 

The eye a telltale of the soul — Protuberant and sunken eyes 
may be corrected — Dull eyes may be made lustrous with- 
out drugs or cosmetics — The use of "eye beautifiers " con- 
demned — Lotion for granulated lids — Wash for inflamed 
eyes — An eye brightener — About clipping the eyebrows — 
Crossed and squinting eyes easily curable — Formulas for 
eye wash — Beauty's eyebrows — Heavy eyebrows an index 
of vitality — To remove superfluous hairs — Toilet of the 
eyebrows — To correct broad and bushy eyebrows — To ar- 
rest falling eyebrows — Cosmetic for darkening the eye- 
brows — Electrical treatment. ...... 197 



CONTENTS 13 

CHAPTER XXIII 

THE JSfOSE 

PAGE 

Red noses generally the result of excess or carelessness — Rela- 
tion between the stomach and nose — Hot water a valuable 
remedy — Influenza, Rose Fever and Hay Fever — The hydro- 
zone and glycozone treatment — Syrup for an itching nose 

— Aromatic bath with massage — Treatment for shiny and 
oily noses — Straightening deformed and ill-shaped noses 

— Red veins on the nose — Bleeding at the nose — Treat- 
ment for a swollen nose. ....... 206 



CHAPTER XXIV 

THE EAR 

Dimensions of the perfect ear — Mothers and nurses often to blame 
for deformed ears — Treatment for outstanding ears — Pierc- 
ing the ears reprehensible — Danger attending the operation 
- — Eczema of the ear — Ointment for eczema of the ear — 
Formula for Duval's earache cure — To remove hardened 
cerumen — How to cleanse the ear — Treatment for black- 
heads in the outer ear — To remove insects from the ear. 216 

CHAPTER XXV 

THE MOUTH AND TEETH 

The perfect mouth — Influence of the mouth and teeth on personal 
beauty — The age of wonderful dentistry — Antiseptic wash 
for offensive breath — Hydrozone and glycozone for catarrhal 
breath — Pocket pastilles — Treatment of the teeth — Care 
of the baby teeth — How to brush the teeth — Tooth powders 
— Formula for too abundant salivation — The habit of gri- 
macing in children — Massage for drooping corners of the 
mouth — Crown fillings — Wash for receding gums — For- 
mula for the famous Eau Botot ointment for cold sores and 
fever blisters — Myrrh and borax mouth w^ash . . . 221 



14 CONTENTS 

CHAPTER XXVI 
THE MOUTH AND TEETH —Continued 



PAGE 



Absolutely clean teeth never decay — Value of smooth tooth sur- 
faces — Tooth polishing — Hardening the tooth structure — 
The use of formalin — Preventative measures and destruction 
of germs — How stained and discolored teeth maybe whitened 
— How crowded teeth may be remedied — How crooked and 
misshapen teeth may be straightened — Display of gold to 
be avoided — Porcelain inlays — Artificial teeth — Value of 
skillful dentistry 231 



CHAPTER XXVII 

THE MOUTH AND TEETH— Concluded 

The wonders of modern dentistry — Fine teeth a prime requisite 
to beauty — How a tooth once extracted can be made to grow 
again — Tooth implantation — Details of the operation — A 
recent successful case — Replantation and transplantation of 
the teeth — The most remarkable achievement of dental sur- 
gery — Operation not long nor painful. .... 237 



CHAPTER XXVIII 

THE ARMS, SHOULDERS, NECK AND BUST 

Physical culture for skinny and bony arms — Lumpy arm of the 
athletic girl — The beautiful arm — Calisthenics — Treatment 
for those who are too thin — To improve rough skin — Lotion 
Giannini — Massage for thin arms — Lotion for whitening the 
arms — To remove superfluous hair on the arms — Delcroix's 
poudre subtile — Massage for relaxed muscles — Treatment 
for a flabby throat — Voice culture for scrawny throats. . 243 



CONTENTS 15 

CHAPTER XXIX 
THE ARMS, SHOULDERS, NECK AND BUST —Concluded 

PAGE 

Average measurements of a finely-formed woman — Development 
of the bust — Danger of using the glass cup — ^The Kisch 
treatment to reduce the breasts — Treatment for bust devel- 
opment — Compressed oxygen gas — To make the busts firm 
- — Linen collars and pretty necks — Massage to counteract 
the effect of wearing stiff collars — Formula for removing 
yellow stains under the collar ...... 252 

CHAPTER XXX 

THE PERFECT WOMAN 

Height should be eight times the length of the head — How the 
height should be divided proportionately — Proper propor- 
tions in width — List of requirements for the perfect woman 
— A woman may be remarkably attractive without exactly 
conforming to a fixed standard — Importance of cleanliness, 
neatness and fastidious care in the matters of the toilet . 258 



CHAPTER XXXI 

THE CORSET 

The cultivated waist — The artistic standard for the waist — The 
wasp waist and the ailments of women — The evils of tight 
lacing — A squeezed waist not pretty — Healthful way to 
attain a slender waist — Effect of tight lacing on the nervous 
system — The average woman requires a corset — It should 
be well fitting and properly constructed — What a proper 
corset will do for the figure — Harm done by tight lacing 
often entailed on a future generation ..... 269 



PAGE 



16 CONTENTS 

CHAPTER XXXII 

THE HAND 

No woman's hand barred from some degree of beauty — Importance 
of early care of children's hands — Rough hands often the 
result of carelessness — Pure soap only should be used^ — 
Amadine for the hands — Honey paste for softening the 
hands — Lotion for chapped hands - — Wash for itching of the 
hands — The Sitts method of manicure — The proper mani- 
cure set — Remedy for profuse perspiration of the hands — 
Treatment for chilblains — Indigestion and red hands. 278 

CHAPTER XXXIII 
THE HAND— Concluded 

How to have soft, pretty hands — Scrupulous cleanliness necessary 

— Skin food for the hands — Almond paste — How to whiten 
the hands — Cocoa cream cerate — How to be your own 
manicure — Simple implements and little time necessary — 
Sharp instruments should not be used — How to care for the 
skin around the nails — Details of the process of manicuring 

— Formula for nail powder and rose paste — To remove 
warts — Miscellaneous hints on the hands .... 289 



CHAPTER XXXIV 

THE EOOT AND FOOT GEAR 

The "Cinderella foot" not the fashion — The foot should be in 
proportion to the frame it supports — The former test of 
foot perfection — Few women over thirty have perfect feet 
— Hope for the rising generation — The "Trilby foot" — 
Harmony makes beauty — When the female foot attains its 
normal size — The average size of the female foot — Requi- 
sites of the truly beautiful foot - — The foot according to 
Flaxraan and the Greek models ...... 298 



CONTENTS 17 

CHAPTER XXXV 
THE FOOT AND FOOT GEAR— Concluded 

PAGE 

The common -sense shoe — Evils of wearing the high French 
heels — Du Manner's missionary work — Toilet of the feet 

— Thorough cleanliness requisite — How to cut the nails — 
How to correct crooked nails — Advice regarding ingrow- 
ing nails — About narrow shoes — Result of tight shoes not 
always immediate — Cures for corns — Tender feet — Patent 
leather condemned — Cold feet — Profuse perspiration and 
its remedy — Bunions — Services of pedicure advised — Re- 
cent wholesome improvement in foot gear — Broad foot- 
form shoes the fashion. ....... 302 

CHAPTER XXXVI 

FOOT MASSAGE 

A wonderful relief for tired feet — Beneficial for feet that have 
been improperly shod — An expert masseuse not required — 
Lotion to be used before massage — Detailed explanation 
of the process — Proper treatment of a corn after cutting 

— Points to be heeded in fitting a shoe — Enlarged joints 

— So called "magic cures" should be avoided — Hints re- 
garding care of the feet ....... 312 

CHAPTER XXXVII 

LATE HOURS AND DISSIPATION 

"Paying the price" — Abstinence of our grandmothers — Influence 
of Europeans on American sobriety — The drinking woman 

— Geography of a dissipated woman's face — The demands 
of society — Why the personal charms of society women so 
quickly fade — A typical example from the author's personal 
experience — A still sadder case — Excess fatal to beauty, 
happiness and morality — A cheerful sign of the times — 
Excess in tea and coffee drinking. ..... 320 



18 CONTENTS 

CHAPTER XXXVIII 
PHYSICAL CULTURE 



PAGE 



Importance of daily exercise — Value of gymnastics — About deep 
breathing — Few people breathe properly — Deep breathing 
should be developed into a habit — The author's system — 
Gymnastics remedy many physical defects — Value of calis- 
thenics for growing girls — Boudoir gymnastics recommended 

— No apparatus necessary — A schedule of exercises . . 327 

CHAPTER XXXIX 

PHYSICAL CULTUBE — Continued 

The Swedish or Ling system of calisthenics — Details of the dif- 
ferent movements — Vigorous work necessary — Exhaustion 
should be avoided — Good ventilation an essential — Dress 
should be loose and light — Special value of apparatus — 
Dumb-bell exercises to build up the chest — The movements 
in detail — Flat-chested girls — Round-shouldered women . 339 

CHAPTER XL 

PHYSICAL CULT URE — Continued 

Where women need strength — Abdominal exercise and hip-reduc- 
tion — The rigid waist — How to attain an elegant walk and 
carriage — Special exercises in detail — ^^Movement for straight- 
ening the shoulders and developing the bust — An exercise 
for general suppleness — How to fill out thin and scrawny 
throats — The movements in detail — Grace and health 
gained by running. . . . . . . . .350 

CHAPTER XLI 
PHYSICAL C ULTURE — Concluded 

Swimming for girls and women — How to learn without a master 

— A healthful and desirable accomplishment — Artificial aids 
should be avoided — Only a few simple rules to be observed 



CONTENTS 19 

PAGE 

— First attempt at a stroke — How to tread water — How to 
learn to float — Bathing costumes — What to do in case of 
cramps and vertigo — How to rescue the drowning and re- 
store consciousness. ........ 360 

CHAPTER XLII 

SOW TO SLEEP 

Tlie right way and the wrong — Sleep one of the most important 
functions of life — Too little time given to rest — Lack of 
sleep quickly destroys health and vigor — Ample repose 
necessary to the preservation of female beauty — Hints about 
sleeping room and beds — The right way to lie — The best 
position for promoting health and a fine figure . . . 373 

CHAPTER XLIII 

BEAUTY AND HEALTH FOR THE JBUSLRES8 

WOMAJSr 

Importance of good looks in business — Best-looking applicants 
generally get the positions — Elaborate dressing out of place 

— The proper make-up — A contented spirit should be cul- 
tivated — Regular exercise not to be neglected — Hints for 
the toilet — Importance of the toilet on retiring — A sepa- 
rate sleeping room highly desirable — Should have ten hours 
sleep, if possible ......... 374 

CHAPTER XLIV 

MOTHER AND CHLLD 

Maternity the holiest mission of woman — Importance to the off- 
spring of moral and physical health in the mother — Hints 
about the newborn child — The first bath — Dressing the 
navel — Use of the flannel bellybancl — Simple clothing for 
the little one — Newborn babies need no artificial food — 
Care in the choice of a wet nurse — The best artificial milk 
— General rules for feeding — Schedule of diet for babies 
brought up by hand ........ 379 

A.— 2 



20 CONTENTS 

CHAPTER XLV 
MOTHER AND CHILD— ConcUded 



PAGE 



Weaning the baby — Sterilization of milk — Bathing and dressing 
— How to carry a baby — Powder no longer used in the 
baby's toilet — The sometimes capricious stomach — Baby's 
accomplishments — Weights and measurements — Baby's 
good looks — The ears — The nose — The head — The mouth 
and teeth — General hints . . . . . ... 389 



CHAPTER XLVI 

HOW TO READ CHARACTER FROM THE FEATURES 

The face as a whole must be considered — The rosebud mouth — 
The conceited mouth — The gossip's mouth — The mouth of 
truthfulness and loyalty — The teeth — The chin — The nose 
— The eye — The eye of long memory — The jealous eye 

— The narrow eye — The eyebrows — The ear . . . 405 

CHAPTER XLVn 

EMACIATION 

How thin women may become plump and stay so — Leanness 
can be easily avoided — Harmless measures alone necessary 

— Treatment not wholly availing in cases of chronic organic 
diseases — Helpful suggestions — Irritable nerves — Treat- 
ment in detail — Exercise, diet and rest — Value of skin 
food — A tonic sometimes necessary — Value of voice culture 

— Cultivation of calmness and placidity — The treatment not 

an experiment ......... 417 

CHAPTER XLVIII 

OBESITY 

How to safely deal with an excess of flesh — Any woman can treat 
herself without injury to health — No drugs necessary — 



CONTENTS ' 21 

PAGE 

Treating fat scientifically — Some flesh-reducing methods — 
The proper weight for various heights — When many women 
beo-in to grow stout — How to meet the enemy — Regulating 
the diet — Suitable clothing — Exercise, diet, sleep — Regi- 
men produces almost immediate results — Encouragement 
from frequent weighing — Lotion to prevent the formation of 
wrinkles after reduction — The treatment not an empty fad, 
but an accomplished scientific fact ..... 425 



CHAPTER XLIX 

COSMETICS 

Their use and abuse — When properly applied they are neither 
immoral nor vulgar — Cosmetics are of ancient lineage — 
A woman fully justified in repairing the damage of years 
and care — Cosmetics not necessary for a woman under 
thirty — Fading beauty accentuated by carelessness — Day- 
light cosmetics — Cosmetics for the home-dinner, opera and 
ball — Liquid whitener — White face-powder — Formula for 
rouge — Liquid rouge ........ 434 



CHAPTER L 

PERFUMES 

The perfumer's art has changed little with time — How to hold a 
flower odor — Only a few flowers yield oils — Essential oils 
very costly — How to make your own perfumes — How to 
distill essential oils from flowers — The best flowers for pur- 
poses of distillation — " Bouquets " the most successful odors 
— Extract essence of rose — Lavender toilet water — Florida 
water — West India bay rum — Sachets — Rose sachet powder 
— Violet sachet powder — Incense and sweet-scented pastilles 
for burning — Cologne — Lavender and rose smelling-salts — 
Heliotrope sachet powder — Formula for fictitious violet 
water — Potpourri of rose leaves — The abuse of perfumes. 441 



22 



CONTENTS 



APPENDIX A 



PAGE 



How Catherine Lane, a human wreck, was restored to 

HEALTH AND BEAUTY WITHOUT DRUGS OR STIMULANTS OF 

ANY KIND .......... 456 

APPENDIX B 
How Martha Baker was cured of obesity, without drugs. 477 



APPENDIX C 
Easily-made remedies and toilet preparations . 



. 499 



APPENDIX D 
List of medicated soaps, with their uses . . • . . 528 



APPENDIX E 



Table of measures 



• • • e a 



. 530 



General Index . 



o a 



. 533 





PAGE 

Harriet Hubbard Ayer, -------- Frontispiece 

Mrs. Aver at work, --_-----___ 28 

Mrs. Ayer at 20, from a photograph taken in Rome, Italy, - - 31 

Mrs. Ayer and her little daughter, --------32 

Transformation op an Ugly Duckling. A. 

1. Miss Frankie Jay when she first consulted Mrs. Ayer, - - 37 

2. The missing tooth replaced, - - - - - - --37 

3. Premature wrinkles removed from brow, _ _ _ _ 37 

4. Freckles eradicated, ----__-_. 37 
Transformation of an Ugly Duckling. B. 

Eyebrows that met over the nose removed. Miss Frankie Jay at 

the end of six weeks' treatment, ------ 33 

Madame Patti at fifty-four (1898) -------- 43 

Madame Bernhardt — her latest photograph (1899) - - - - 44 

Mrs. Langtry at the age of sixteen, --------53 

Mrs. Langtry — present day (1899) -------- 54 

The Duchess of Marlborough (latest picture), an ideal young mother, - 61 
English type of beauty — the Princess of Pless, ----- q2 

American type of beauty, -----^-_--67 

Type of golden-haired beauty, - - - -- -- - - 68 

Three American types of beauty, -_-____. 73 

Austrian type of beauty, ---------- 74 

French type of beauty — Cleo de Merode ---»--- 77 
Jewish type of beauty, -------__-7g 

Italian type of beauty (old) ---- ;---^_81 

Italian type of beauty (modern) -------- 82 

The Hair: 

The anatomy of a single hair, --------87 

How to brush the hair, --------- 88 

An artist's model famed for luxuriant hair. No. 1, - - - 93 
An artist's model famed for luxuriant hair. No. 2, - - - 94 

(23) 



24 ILLUSTRATIONS 

Scalp Massage: page 

1. First movement in scalp massage, - - - - - -119 

2. Massage gently in line of part, ------- 120 

3. Third movement in scalp massage — Eipple movement, - - 123 

4. Massage treatment for headache, ____-- i24 
The Complexion — Lines and Weinkles: 

(1) Petulant lines. (2) The gossip. (3) Conscientious wrinkles. 

(4) The cynic. (5) The giggler. (6) Revengeful lines, - - 159 
Anatomical chart showing facial muscles : (1) Frontalis muscle. 
(2) Occipitalis muscle. (3) Orbicularis Palpebrarum muscle. 
(4) Orbital portion of the Orbicularis Palpebrarum. (5) Com- 
pressor Naris muscle. (6) Depressor Alse Nasi muscle. (7) 
Orbicularis Oris muscle. (8) Levator Labii Superioris muscle. 
(9) Levator Anguli Oris muscle. (10) Zygomaticus Major. 
(11) Zygomaticus Minor. (12) Platysma Myoides. (13) De- 
scending portion of Platysma Myoides. (14) Depressor Labii 
Inferioris. (15) Depressor Anguli Oris. (16) Levator Menti. 
(18) Temporal muscle. (19) Masseter muscle. (20) Sterno- 
mastoid muscle. (21) Trapezius muscle, _ - - - 160 
Massage for wrinkles in the forehead, _--_-_ 171 
Massage for removing laughing wrinkles, ----- 171 

Massage movement for removing droop to eyelid, - - - - 172 

Massage for making flabby neck firm, ------ 175 

Massage for developing the predominating muscles, - - - 175 
Massage for developing Mahler muscles, ----- 176 

Diagram for Facial Massage : 

To remove furrows from the brow, - - - - - - -179 

To remove laughing wrinkles, --____- igQ 

To remove a droop in the eyelid, ------- 183 

For making flabby neck firm, ------- 184 

For developing the predominating muscles, ----- 187 

For strengthening the Mahler muscles, ----- 188 

The perfect eye, __---------- 2OI 

An old type of beauty, __---.----- 202 

The Mouth and Teeth: 

Mrs. X before implantation of teeth, ------ 239 

Mrs. X after implantation of teeth, ------ 239 

The perfect mouth (profile) __-_---- 240 

The perfect mouth (front view) ------- 240 

The harmonic poise, ___-----_-- 259 

Diagram of normal figure, --------- 260 

The stretch of thumb and second finger should measure the face, - 263 

The Gibson type of measures, --------- 263 

Normal proportions of a woman's figure — 3 illustrations, - - - 264 

Normal proportions of a woman's throat, ------ 267 



ILLUSTKATIONS 25 

PAGE 

Normal proportions of a woman's wrist, ------- 268 

Normal proportions of a woman's foot, ------- 268 

The torture corset, ----------- 273 

The middle aged woman with a badly fitting corset. No. 1, - - 274 
Same woman with proper fitting corset. No. 2, ----- 274 

Corset for slender women who wish the new figure, - - - - 274 

Manicuring : 

Shape the nails with a velvet file, ^ ----- - 285 

Use clippers instead of curved scissors, ----- 285 

Showing use of the orange-wood stick in manicuring, - - - 286 
Polishing with the buffer, - - -- - - - - 286 

Foot Massage : 

To massage the sore joint, ___--__- 313 

Rub always from the ankle toward the toes, - - - - 313 

To relieve bunions and swollen joints, ------ 314 

Use the rotary movement on the outside of foot and ankle, - 317 
Support the ball of foot with left hand, ------ 317 

Geography of a dissipated woman's face, -__-_- 318 

Physical Culture : 

Gymnastics for the little men and women of the four hundred, - 329 
Form exercises for grace and strength: (1) Lying flat on back, 
arms extended above head, chest deflated. (2) Lying on back, 
arms extended, chest inflated. (3) Seated, arms extended, 
chest inflated. (4) Lying on back, feet and arms extended 
upward, chest deflated, -------- 330 

Exercises for strengthening muscles of thigh and side, - - - 333 
Exercises to expand chest, -- - - - - - - 333 

Exercise for erect figure (Swedish movements) - _ - - 334 
Running for strength, __---_--- 334 
Exercises in Physical Culture: 

An invitation to consumption, ------- 337 

Consumption defied, ________ 337 

Exercises for chest and lung development — 4 illustrations, - - 337 
The Ling movements — 7 illustrations, ------ 338 

Dumb-bell exercises — 8 illustrations, -_--__ 341 

The game of basket ball — 4 illustrations, ----- 342 

To develop calf of leg, - - - - - - -- - 347 

To reduce size of waist, --------- 347 

Chest development and rounded arms, - - - - - - 347 

Exercises for reducing hips and making waist supple — 3 illustra- 
tions, ------------ 348 

Swedish movements : 

Leg swing to reduce hips, forward movement, - - - 351 
Leg swing to reduce hips, backward movement, - - 351 
Half standing, trunk bending backward, - - - _ 352 



26 ILLUSTRATIONS 

Physical Culture : — Continued page 

Swedish movements : — Continued 

Exercises for strengthening abdominal muscles, - - 352 

Sitting, trunk bending backward, with arms bending and 

stretching, ---_-_____ 355 

The same as the first with arms stretching, - - - 355 
Head exercises for flabby throats and double chins: (1) Throw 
the head as far back as possible. (2) Bend the head forw^ard 
until the chin rests upon the breastbone. (3) Turn the head 
from right to left, let the chin approach the shoulder as nearly 
as possible, --------.__ 355 

Exercises in Physical Culture': 

Floating, --369 

Ready to dive, ---------- 369 

Swimming, ----- 369 

Treading water, ---------- 369 

How to sleep and how not to sleep — 3 illustrations, -. - - " - 870 
Wrong way to put a baby in a tub, -------- 381 

Right way to put a baby in a tub, -------- 381 

Sew the baby's clothes on,- - - - - - - - - - 382 

Wrong way to hold a baby, --------- 391 

Right way to hold a baby, ----- 391 

A baby's outstanding ears and a pug nose — 2 illustrations, - - 392 

How to correct a baby's outstanding ears, ------ 399 

A perfectly groomed baby, --------- 400 

Mary Anderson Navarro's little son, -------- 407 

Symbols of the mouth, ---------- 408 

Types revealed by the chin, ---------- 411 

Types revealed by the neck, - - - - - - - - -412 

Catherine Lane, before treatment, -------- 461 

Catherine Lane inhaling oxygen, -------- 462 

Catherine Lane at the end of six weeks' treatment, ----- 473 

Catherine Lane, two years after, -------- 474 

Martha Baker, before treatment, -------- 493 

Martha Baker, after five weeks' reduction treatment, - - - - 494 

Martha Baker's measurements, taken from life, showing proportionate 

reduction from Mrs. Ayer's treatment, 497 

The evolution of the corset — from Greek zone to the corset of to-day, - 498 

Electricity to remove wrinkles, -- 515 

The proper way to use the camel's-hair face-scrubbing brush, - - 516 
Mrs. Ayer and Her Daughter Margaret 531 




cr 
o 

I- 
< 

UJ 

> 
< 

CO 

a: 



3 




Which with experimental zeal doth warrant 
The tenor of my book. — Much Ado about Nothing. 




^OR fifteen years I have been studying, experi- 
menting, manufacturing and writing along 
the lines followed in this volume. 

I do not advance theories, but demonstrated 
facts in what 1 have to say. I know that 
good women are happier and better if they 
keep their good looks, their youthful grace 
and elasticity, their girlish figures throughout life, than 
when through ignorance or carelessness, or both, they lose 
their personal charms and become old and bent, wrinkled 
and fat, or emaciated before they have reached the golden 
prime of life. When I say that no woman need be obese, 
no woman, if she have not an organic disease, need be 
bony, no woman need grow bent and haggard and yel- 
low, faded or wrinkled; I assert what I have proved not 
once, but thousands of times. 

I believe that good women can be more helpful, more 
uplifting, and wield a stronger moral influence if they 

(29) 



30 PREFACE 

are lovely to look at. graceful as well as gracious, perpet- 
ually young and beautiful, than the reverse. 

We were created with a love of beauty, and woman is 
its highest expression. The beautiful girl, the beautiful 
wife and mother, the beautiful grandmother — we think of 
them each with a special tenderness and gratitude. 

The reason for writing this volume is found in the 
fact that for many years no single day has passed that I 
have not received letters from unknown women asking 
for a book that would give them practical advice on the 
subjects here treated. 

I most sincerely hope and believe that every woman 
who does me the honor of reading what I have to say 
will find many hints and suggestions that will be useful 
to her and to others whose welfare she has at heart — for 
it is my earnest wish to be of practical service. 

I am indebted to the Editors of the New York World 
for permission to reprint the copyrighted accounts of the 
cures of Catherine Lane and Martha Baker, two patients 
who were placed by the Sunday World in my care, and 
for leave to use in this book various of my formulas, 
which have appeared in the World's evening edition. 

I also beg to acknowledge my indebtedness for many 
formulas and also for much valuable information con- 
tained in this book to the eminent dermatologists, Dr. 
E. Monin, Secretary of the French Hygienic Society and 
Chevalier of the Legion of Honor, Dr. Hebra Pere, 
Vienna, and also to Drs. Fossati, Vigier, Anna Kingsford, 
J. V. Shoemaker, as well as to the works of the late Sir 
Erasmus Wilson, — Drs. DeBaye and Cazenave, and partic- 




MRS. AVER AT TWENTY 
FROM A PHOTOGRAPH TAKEN IN ROME, ITALY 



(31) 




MRS. AVER AND HER LITTLE DAUGHTER 



(32) 



: 



PREFACE 33 

ularly I wish to express my appreciation of the aid given 
by Dr. Robert Eugene Payne, whose marvelous dental 
work needs no commendation of mine to enhance its value. 

Doctor Payne performed the operation of tooth im- 
plantation described in Chapter XXVII. and personally 
gave me much late scientific information in the manage- 
ment of teeth, which places me in his debt and will prove 
of valuable benefit to my readers. 

1 wish, likewise, to thank my colleagues, Mrs. E. A. 
Hammond, Mrs. E. M. Brandenberg, Miss E. Cogswell, Mrs. 
Juliet Lee, Miss Parrish, and Miss Sophie Bergman, each 
eminent in her calling, for the photographs illustrating the 
administration of electricity, facial massage, manicuring, 
and foot massage, massage of the scalp, and Swedish move- 
ments for physical culture. 

These pictures were taken under the personal direction 
of the ladies mentioned, and are invaluable because they 
actually demonstrate from living subjects the scientific 
methods for obtaining the best results from treatments 
which are acknowledged by the medical profession, with- 
out a dissenting voice, as the very best known to science 
for the purposes in view. 





CHAPTER I 



THE WILL O' THE WISP, BEAUTY 

Even virtue is more fair when it appears in a beautiful person. — Virgil. 




N HER own mind, at least, no woman is ever just 
what she wants to be. If she be pretty, she is 
striving to be prettier. If she be plain, she is 
struggling to be less plain, to approach comeliness 
by one path or other. When one considers the 
amount of time, and patience, and money, and 
heartache a woman consecrates to the task she 
has set herself, the situation becomes well-nigh pathetic. 
Almost from babyhood the secret aim of every little 
girl is to be beautiful. She wants to be good, too, but she 
feels that, first of all, she must be beautiful. Idle at her 
books, listless and indolent where every other aim and 
object of life is concerned, you will find your daughter, 
your mother's daughter and mine, your laundress's daugh- 
ter, the daughter of your clergyman, or the daughter of 

(35) 



36 HARRIET HUBBARD AYER 

your hero, equally alert, eager^ untiring, and faithful in 
the pursuit of good looks. 

I doubt if any woman ever stops, ever calls a halt, in 
the pursuit of outward loveliness. As a young maiden 
she is intent upon the creation of beautiful womanhood. 
She watches the deepening color of her eyes, notes the 
increasing symmetry of her form, the cunning beauties 
that reveal themselves in the arch and curves of a mobil- 
ity lately come to moist red lips. 

She knows that she is each day the handmaid of a 
work of creative loveliness, and she never tires — never 
grows weary of watching the mirrored result. 

Finally she rejoices in a superb fulfillment of rosebud 
promises ; she realizes the blossoming of the flower, but 
her charms are hardly mature ere she suddenly becomes 
aware that they begin to show signs of fading. 

Then she begins to defend her precious possessions. 
Care, anxiety, maternity, rob her of the rose-leaf color in 
her cheek, imprint little lines upon her smooth brow, steal 
away the elasticity of her girlish figure. 

By every means in her power, often by every so-called 
power within her means, she fights inch by inch for the 
crown of her life's happiness ; her pretty face, her lithe, 
graceful form. She fights valiantly, too, and even in the 
defeat of her Hebe-like grace of youth, she manages to 
win our admiration by an opulent and splendid maturity. 

The pursuit of beauty in woman has been aided and 
abetted by man, if, indeed, it does not owe its origin to the 
male. The best man in the world, the worst man in the 
universe and all the others in between, succumb to 





No. 1 : MISS FRANKfE JAY WHEN SHE FIRST CONSULTED 
MRS. AVER 



NO. 2 : THE MISSING TOOTH REPLACED 





No. 3 : PREMATURE WRINKLES REMOVED FROM BROW 



No. 4 : FRECKLES ERADICATED 



THE TRANSFORMATION OF AN UGLY DUCKLING — (a) 



(37) 




EYEBROWS THAT MET OVER THE NOSE REMOVED. MISS FRANKIE 
JAY AT THE END OF SIX WEEKS' TREATMENT 



(38) 



THE TRANSFORMATION OF AN UGLY DUCKLING — (b) 



THE WILL 0' THE WISP, BEAUTY 39 

the charm of beauty in woman. Incidentally it may be 
stated that he usually says he prefers a plain, good woman 
to a pretty, vain one. It is very impressive to listen to a 
man's dissertations upon woman's vanity and her love of 
admiration. 

Recently a man told me that nothing to him was so 
hopeless as a woman striving to be better looking than 
the Lord intended she should be. 

*'Why," he said, ''can't a woman be satisfied with 
Nature ? " 

And I feebly replied that Nature had been extremely 
skimpy in dealing out personal attributes to some of us, 
and a Nature that gave a girl crooked teeth, pink eye- 
lashes, freckles, and knock-knees, was not deserving of the 
undying gratitude of her victim. 

^' I should think," he retorted with much vigor, " a 
thousand times more of a girl who is content to abide b}^ 
the looks she was born with than of one who tries to im- 
prove on Nature." 

The night following I saw this young man at the 
theatre. He was escorting a young woman with auburn 
hair and beautiful blue eyes. 

The next morning he asked me if I saw the '' sweet 
little girl who was with him," and if I didn't think her 
'^awfully pretty." 

And I behaved like a perfect angel and said I saw her 
and thought her lovely. There was something else I might 
have said, for I remembered that same "sweet little girl" 
when she had white eyelashes and eyebrows, and the 
ugliest carrot-red hair ever inflicted upon a child. I know 



40 HARRIET HUBBARD AYER 

when and how that hair was made a pretty auburn, and 
those eyelashes and eyebrows stained a shade darker. 
And I also know that the man who finds her so charm- 
ing now would never have looked twice at her with her 
white eyebrows and lashes. 

Some of these days I hope this little girl will have the 
courage to tell my friend, who is head over heels in love 
with her, about her eyebrows. That will be the time for 
testing this man's affection. Because he raves over this 
maiden's exquisite soul, which he assures me is a fit com- 
panion for her face, ten to one he will declare he has 
been deceived by a designing girl villain. And who knows 
what the consequences will be? 

But if every man who asks a sweet young girl to join 
her life with his own is not concealing from her some- 
thing rather more discreditable than a stained eyebrow, 
then, I say, let us all stop work and sing psalms of re- 
joicing, for the millennium is upon us. 

The pursuit of beauty is as old as the world — as old 
as the love of beauty. Do not let us blame the women 
who have learned, some of them in the saddest of all 
ways, that beauty is the supreme power of our sex. Eather 
let us realize that perpetual beauty and virtue are syn- 
onymous, because it has been proved that even physical 
beauty, if maintained in its proper sense, after maturity, 
means purity and temperance, and without these two at- 
tributes no power on earth can preserve a woman's love- 
liness beyond the early thirties. 




CHAPTER II 




THE ART OF REMAINING YOUNG 

Beauty is a great gift from Heaven, not for the purpose of female vanity, but for one 
wlio loves and wishes to be lowed. — Maria Edgewood. 

GE is a matter of feeling, not of years. 

It has been frequently said that a woman 
is as old as she looks, but a man only as 
old as he feels. It has also been from time 
to time declared by various wiseacres that 
every woman looks her age. 

Helen of Troy was forty-six when men 
fought for her smiles and favors. Diane de Poitiers was 
fifty-six when men far and near acknowledged her a siren, 
whose fascinations none could resist. Julie Recamier at 
sixty could hardly dissuade an enamored prince, half her 
age, from suicide, because she declined to accept his pro- 
testations of passionate love. Ninon de FEnclos's last des- 
perate affair of the heart occurred when that lady was in 
her early eighties. But, you will say very properly, that 

these are women of history, and personal history is apt 
A.-3 (41) 



42 HARRIET HUBBARD AYER 

to be far from accurate. Let me then point you to ex- 
amples of persistent beauty and youthfulness, despite all 
obstacles, in the women of our own generation. 

Look at Sara Bernhardt as a typical example of the 
woman who really is only as old as her face and figure 
appear. Mme. Bernhardt is far beyond fifty. She ap- 
pears about thirty-seven or thirty-eight on the stage, 
but wonder of wonders, she really does not look a day 
over thirty in private life. I know Mme. Bernhardt, and 
the last time she was here I looked closely at her face. 
I scrutinized every feature ; I was on the alert for the 
lines that are said to mark the fortieth year; for the loss 
of flesh firmness which is, unless prevented by care, almost 
certain to intrude its unwelcome presence at about forty- 
six. I watched Mme. Bernhardt as perhaps she never was 
watched before, and I declare to you that, with the excep- 
tion of a few tiny emotional lines about the upper lip, 
Sara Bernhardt is as young in appearance to-day as she 
was when I saw her twenty years ago in Paris, and a 
thousand times better looking, more charming, and fascin- 
ating in every way. 

Adelina Patti is another woman over fifty who will 
never be old in appearance, and whom no one can recall 
as a really old woman. 

I could continue, had I space, to cite innumerable other 
instances which would prove the statement I make with- 
out qualification, when I declare that there is no necessity 
for a woman to grow old. 

Now, when I say there is no necessity for a woman to 
grow old, I mean just what the words stand for. This 




MADAME PATTI AT FIFTY-FOUR — (1898) 



(43) 



r 



f 

I 

f 




MADAME BERNHARDT — HER LATEST PICTURE (1899) 



(44) 



i 



THE ART OF REMAINING YOUNG 45 

statement is intended for women under thirty. They may 
remain where th y are for twenty years, if they will. I 
have another and more comprehensive statement to make, 
and one I have fully proved, and am prepared to prove 
again. It is that women of fifty or over who chose to do 
so, may recover, in appearance and feeling, the youth they 
have been defrauded of. They may get back the lost lines 
and curves, the freshness of the skin and elasticity of 
step, if they but will to do so. 

You see, happily for us women, the old-fashioned grand- 
mother has gone out of fashion. May she never be re- 
vived. Fifty years ago a woman practically retired from 
the pleasures and active interests of life at about her for- 
tieth birthday and began to get ready to die. It made 
no difference how youthful her spirit may have been, nor 
how many years of her young life she had unselfishly de- 
voted to the bearing and rearing of a brood of children. 

Yes, I glory in the fact that we have emancipated the 
young grandmother. The truth is there is no rhyme or 
reason in age as associated with decrepitude. The woman 
of to-day is young, vigorous, and beautiful at fifty, because 
she has discovered that there need be no such thing as 
old grandmotherdom. The grandmother of to-day is some- 
thing to be proud of. She is in the prime of her life. 
She looks forward, not back. The reverence inspired in 
the fulfillment of a splendid womanhood, in which no 
faintest signs of fading or weakness are visible, is no less 
exalted and far more admirable than the condescending 
and patronizing protection we gave to the grandmother 
of half a century back, who shed tears for her departed 



46 HARRIET HUBBARD AYER 

youth, often, I doubt not, for the greater portion of her 
adult life. 

It has taken a good many years, and an eternity of 
patience, to convince the modern woman that she is ac- 
countable to herself, as well as to her family, for every 
wrinkle, for her middle-aged figure, triple chin, scant locks, 
toothless mouth, bent back, and general invitation in her 
appearance to Time to do his worst — a rushing out to 
meet and embrace every foe to her looks, and her happi- 
ness as well. 

There is an old adage, and a true one, which says 
''Comeliness recommends virtue." If there were virtue in 
plainness, this world ought to be much better than I, at 
least, have found it to be. Mortals are led by appearance. 
It is the beautiful women of the world who have been 
the most powerful. It is the beautiful women who have 
largely made history. Beauty and goodness should walk 
hand in hand, and the more lovely a good woman is, the 
longer she can retain her charm of person, the better 
equipped she will be for the highest duties that may de- 
volve upon her. 

It has been said that there is no royal road to beauty. 
There is no regal or sumptuous approach to anything 
that is worth having, so far as my experience has taught 
me. Certainly the preservation of one's graces and 
charms requires care and common sense, but not more 
care than you give your fine laces, your precious bric-a- 
brac, your flowers, your household effects, or your pets. 

Scrupulous cleanliness, air, light, diet, exercise — it is 
simple enough — and without question we adopt these 



THE ART OF REMAINING YOUNG 4n 

means, partl}^ or in their entirety, for all other things 
within our care and jurisdiction. It is surprising, nay, it 
is amazing, to think of the line we draw between our- 
selves in the point of care, and the skillful attention and 
the solicitude we bestow upon an animal of the lower 
kingdom, or even upon the parlor furniture. We neglect 
ourselves, but we keep the silver from tarnishing, and the 
house well dusted. We have accepted, with rigid sullen- 
ness, or a resignation which could never have been any- 
thing but pretended, the moth patches and specks upon 
our cheeks and brows, and the disposition of our noses 
to turn bright red when they most afflicted us by so 
doing. We have been tormented by skin diseases, over- 
burdened by fat, and tortured by protruding bones when 
we desired curves ; we have supinely submitted because — 
well, does any reasoning woman know ? I certainly do 
not, except that it has been inherited and bred in us for 
generations back to take all these afflictions as a part of 
God's work. At the same time, we have exhausted our 
lives in polishing brasses and keeping specks off the 
window glass. 

In scornful disdain we bar the spotty bit of fruit, the 
withered vegetable, or the aged hen from our kitchens 
and our tables, for we are, first of all, conscientious house- 
keepers. We are as one who should say : " Nothing shall 
be speckled or withered or wrinkled but me," and I speak 
with no intention of being irreverent when I assert that 
we have pretended at least to believe that our mutilated 
and disfigured faces and forms were a part of God's spe- 
cial and specific work, while we have religiously taught 



48 HARRIET HUBBARD AYER 

and been taught that ours consisted in an endless war 
against time and decay, spots and specks, dusts and tar- 
nish, as applied to silver and mahogany, cupboards and 
window glass. In other words. Providence would look 
after us. If he didn't it was for our own good, and a 
part of some great and glorious scheme has primarily 
necessitated our being humiliated and neglected. Provi- 
dence exacted of us to do nothing for ourselves. We 
were to put in our time beautifying tin pans and brass 
knockers. 

I believe the old-fashioned idea concerning a woman, 
as here referred to, is not only absurd, but demoralizing. 

If it be symbolic of pure domestic life and womanly 
character to be a good housekeeper, — which means to be 
exquisitely nice about the appointments of one's home, — 
why in the world is it not even more praiseworthy for 
the mistress of such a home to regard herself a-s quite as 
precious as the daintiest of her possessions, and to care 
for herself accordingly ? I am convinced that no one fac- 
tor in a family is so demoralizing as a careless, slatternly 
wife and mother. 

A witty member of our sex once said that she found 
a consolation in being well dressed which no religion had 
ever afforded her. A woman is always happiest who 
knows that in her appearance she is charming and pleas- 
ing to those whom she loves and whose affection makes 
up the sum and substance of her life. 

There are a number of ways of combating the ravages 
of time in its impress upon our faces and forms. One, 
the hygienic method, which is certainly the best, should 



. THE ART OF REMAINING YOUNG 49 

begin in infancy or early youth, and may properly be 
called the prevention of destruction. The method will 
result in giving to every disciple the maximum of her 
possibilities for physical beauty. 

The second is the cosmetic branch, v^ith w^hich may be 
included plastic surgery. Cosmetics and youth should be 
strangers. 

During the years I studied chemistry and cosmetic art 
and manufactured so-called cosmetics, I labored faithfully, 
both here and in Europe, and the longer I remained in 
the laboratory manufacturing these articles, the less I 
felt the average v\^oman needed them or should use them, 
and the more respect I had for scrubbing brushes, soap, 
and water, without other aids, at least for women under 
thirty. 

Women of a certain age who have missed the great 
opportunity for perpetuating their youth, in the general 
ignorance which clouded all of us, at least in my genera- 
tion, can undo much of the ravages of the past. They 
may call a halt on Time and may be pardoned for resort- 
ing to innocent devices in the way of harmless aids to 
their toilet. It will be my very pleasant task to offer 
my readers suggestions from both points of view — that is 
to say, suggestions for young women who wish to pre- 
serve their beauty and to acquire a hygienic method of 
doing so, and to other and older women advice for the 
repair of damage and for the restoration of the beauty of 
youth, or at least a fair resemblance of it, for ''beauty 
doth varnish age and give the crutch the cradle's in- 
fancy." 




CHAPTER HI 



THE SIN OF DOWDINESS 




Time hath worn us into slovenry. — Henry V. 

HERE are women who are constitutionally ex- 
empt from dowdiness, but the average woman 
of moderate means and, above all, the woman 
who has to count every penny and make it 
the equivalent of a five-cent piece is in great 
danger of drifting into that most unattractive 
condition called dowdiness. 
. The dowdy woman may be born so, in which case I 
think she should never marry. All of us see women who 
never look well dressed, whose hair is always coming down, 
and whose faces even are "dowdy" looking, showing an 
utter disregard of .the art of grooming, as well as a total 
lack of discrimination in the selection of apparel. 

Frequently these women have money, for the dowd is 
not confined to any station in life, nor is she necessarily 
the product of poverty and ignorance. 

(50) 



THE SIN OF DOWDINESS 51 

When you see a woman with filthy skirts, a soiled 
stock and faded finery, no matter how bright and pretty 
her face or how perfect her complexion, she is dowdy. 

Some women drift into dowdy ism in a most extraordi- 
nary manner as soon as they are what they are pleased to 
term married and settled. A girl whom we all remembei 
as dainty and trim during her youth in a year or two 
after her brilliant marriage becomes a confirmed sloven, a 
slave to loose wrappers and down-at-the-heel slippers — in 
other words, a dowd. 

The man who remembers her as she stood beside him 
in all her bridal beauty has cause to feel that he has been 
badly cheated, as indeed he has. 

Wives who permit themselves to become dowdy well 
understand that sooner or later their husbands will regret 
ever having married them, and after that the end may be 
easily predicted. 

It is a grave mistake for a woman to neglect her looks, 
no matter what her age or condition in life. It is almost 
criminal in a married woman. Sometimes when I tell this 
to a woman who is on the road to dowdiness she replies 
that she lets herself go because she has so much to do 
and does not like to spend the money. 

This is a penny-wise-and-pound-foolish view of the mat- 
ter, and it is pregnant with real danger to the peace and 
happiness of two people, and sometimes of an entire family. 

The woman who has so much to do would never think 
of neglecting to scrub her floor, or polish her tin pans. 
She will sew yards of cheap lace upon a baby dress, or 
sit up nights making useless finery for a child who 



52 HARRIET HUBBARD AYER 

would be much more comfortable and attractive in a 
simple garment. 

But she has not time to take a daily bath, to keep her 
hair lustrous and well dressed and to preserve her teeth 
even and white. Instead she allows herself to degenerate 
into a household drudge and dowd. 

If I had the making of the laws I would require that 
every living woman should take one hot scrub and one 
cold sponge each day, brush her teeth twice at least and 
her hair night and morning. 

I would make it a misdemeanor for a woman to ap- 
pear in drabbly skirts, and a penitentiary offense to be 
found attired in a "Mother Hubbard'^ outside of her own 
room. 

Further than this I don't believe in plain-looking 
women. 

There is a chance for every one of us to be attractive 
in appearance, and there is no such thing as a hopelessly 
ugly girl or woman. 

To be sure, we may not be raving beauties, all of us, 
but every woman alive can make herself a pleasant pic- 
ture for the eyes of man to fall upon. 

First of all, whatever her age is, a woman must look 
scrupulously nice and clean. 

Untidy hands, a face that shows the need of a scrub- 
bing brush, hair that is forever falling down or displays 
bits of strings and other devices for keeping it up, shoes 
that are dingy, without buttons and run off at the heel, a 
fringed dress skirt lifted to reveal a soiled petticoat and 
a wrinkled stocking. 




MRS. LANGTRY AT THE AGE OF SIXTEEN 

AN OBJECT LESSON IN BEAUTY CULTURE 



(53) 




MRS. LANGTRY — PRESENT DAY (1899) 

AN OBJECT LESSON IN BEAUTY CULTURE 



(54) 



THE SIN OF DOWDINESS 55 

There is nothing so fatal to a girl's chances as untidi- 
ness. 

But suppose, as a girl once wrote to me, that a woman 
is freckled, and has red hair and no figure to speak of. 
Suppose, with such natural disadvantages, she is poor 
and has to work hard and ruin her hands, and is always 
tired, and can never buy anything pretty. What then? 

Well, all that is just what I will suppose. 

Now, red hair of itself is beautiful. Usually it waves 
or curls, and that is an added beauty. 

Freckles are not pretty, and they are practically there 
to stay. The freckles of red-haired women are conspicu- 
ous during the day, but they do not show much, some- 
times not at all, by gaslight. 

A red-haired, freckled girl too often lacks sufficient 
contrast between eyebrows, eyelashes, and skin to give her 
a clean-cut look 

I think in such cases it is a woman's duty to darken 
the eyebrows and lashes. This can be done with little 
trouble and is imperceptible. The complexion of the red- 
haired girl is her most serious drawback. 

It lends itself to untidiness, so the victim must be 
especially careful to keep it looking clean and well cared 
for. 

If the red-haired girl has an oily skin she must be 
careful of her diet, avoiding all greasy and stimulating 
food, and in addition she must use an astringent lotion 
and a very little fine powder. 

If my little red-headed girl has not nice teeth, she should 
have them repaired and made pretty and wholesome. 



56 



HARRIET HUBBARD AYER 



A thousand times better go without a new winter hat 
and gown, if you are a poor girl, than let your teeth 
suffer. 

And there is not only wisdom, but morality in all this„ 
for it is virtuous to be just as lovely as one can, and as 
no depraved woman ever was truly lovely, there is no 
moral danger in being beautiful and remaining so. There 
is a good deal of work to be accomplished, but it is a 
work in the right direction. 



\ 





"'■'••"-.oooooi-'iGlLBCRT ♦ 



CHAPTER IV 



THE WELL-GROOMED WOMAN 




We must be neat ; not neat but cleanly, 

— Winter's Tale. 

'HEN one wishes to briefly epitomize a woman 
as exquisitely neat, perfectly dressed, and cor- 
rect in all the appointments of a thorough- 
bred daughter of the nineteenth century, one 
says of her : " She is a well-groomed woman." 
Practically, it means that the lady in 
question is most delicately fastidious in 
everything pertaining to her toilet and personality. The 
well-groomed woman would much sooner relinquish her 
breakfast than her morning plunge, and about as will- 
ingly submit to an attack upon her moral character as to 
a suspicion that her linen was ever other than absolutely 
immaculate. 

Good grooming has nothing whatever to do with 
make-up in any form. 

(57) 



58 HARRIET HUBBARD AYER 

Indeed, it is opposed radically to paints, powders, and 
artifice generally. 

The well-groomed woman is she who takes her two 
baths daily, and whose bath at night is known as and 
called the hot scrub. 

The friction of the various bath brushes used for this 
function gives the skin a satin-like bloom which no sub- 
terfuge w^ill impart. 

The well-groomed woman's hair is lustrous, soft, and, 
above all, with never a suggestion of dandruff. Her scalp 
is as clean and shining as her brow. 

She is as careful about the cleanliness of her head as 
of her face, and, if necessary, the hair will be washed twice 
or thrice a week, for cleanliness and furfura, as she knows, 
are incompatible. 

Her hands are daintiness itself, her linen irre- 
proachable ; her boots as perfectly varnished and as 
well-fitting and tasteful as those of her brother, the ac- 
knowledged best-dressed man of his class at Yale or Co- 
lumbia. 

Her skirts and jackets appear each time she wears 
them, until they are cast aside, without a frazzled edge or 
3pot. Her gloves fit to a nicety, never pinch, and are al- 
ways whole and carefully buttoned. 

It requires so much time, I hear a reader say. 

Yes, it does ; but it is time well spent. 

It pays particularly for middle-aged women to be thor- 
oughly well groomed. 

Not long since I met an old friend of mine who is 
certainly fifty, possibly older. 



THE WELL-GROOMED WOMAN 59 

She was positively a radiant, handsome creature ; so 
sweet, so wholesome looking, so deliciously nice to the 
eye, that I said to her : — 

" You are better looking, handsomer, more attractive 
than you have ever been. You were stout ten years ago 
— too stout. You didn't look at all as you do now. What 
do you mean by playing such a trick, and you a grand- 
mother ? " 

And my friend laughed, and showed two rows of glis- 
tening teeth, and, looking at me with the merry bright 
eyes of her youngest daughter, said: — 

"Why, I am younger than I was fifteen years ago, for 
then I weighed over two hundred pounds and had three 
chins. 

"Then I had an idea that I must settle down and 
wear middle-aged clothes — ' costumes ' the dressmakers 
call them — and bonnets with strings under the chin, such 
as are worn with costumes and wraps — large, voluminous 
wraps," continued my friend. 

" Oh, I was playing my middle-aged role to the very 
limit, when suddenly I awakened to the fact that my 
husband was constantly referring to this or that woman's 
beautiful figure, charming appearance, and well-groomed 
look. 

" Sometimes the women he spoke of were younger, 
sometimes about my own age. 

"Gradually I awakened to the knowledge that my hus- 
band, at five and forty, was just as much of a man and 
just as susceptible to beauty and grace as when he first 
found me pretty and charming twenty years before. 



60 HARRIET HUBBARD AYER 

''All in a moment I realized that I had grown fat and 
dumpy and indolent, and that I was losing my husband's 
love. 

"Now, it may be unfashionable, but I am just as much 
in love with him as I was the day we were married. 

"When I actually understood the danger I was in, I 
can tell you I made up my mind to defend my most 
priceless possession. 

"I got a book on physical culture. I learned how to 
reduce my flesh systematically and how to keep at a cer- 
tain desirable weight. I learned the ritual of perfect 
cleanliness and practiced it religiously, getting back my 
old-time freshness. 

"I stopped wearing 'costumes' and became tailor-made 
for the street. I ordered the prettiest gowns and negli- 
gees for home and the most elegant little wraps and 
waists for the theatre, and you never saw any one so as- 
tonished and delighted as my husband. 

"When the first grandchild came, I wore such a per- 
fectly stunning gown to the christening, and I looked so 
well, that my husband and my son-in-law kissed me and 
called me a 'regular peach.' 

"It wasn't an elegant expression, but it made me 
happy and it made me doubly appreciate the merit of 
being a perfectly groomed, well-dressed, and attractive 
woman, especially after I had passed the golden prime of 
life and was descending the shady side of the hill." 

Some may say, " Oh, it's all very easy for such a woman 
with ample means and time at her disposal, to keep her- 
self in the 'pink of perfection,' to parade in tailor-made 




THE DUCHESS OF MARLBOROUGH (LATEST PICTURE) 
AN IDEAL YOUNG MOTHER 



(61) 




THE PRINCESS OF PLESS 
ENGLISH TYPE OF BEAUTY 



(62) 



THE WELL-GROOMED WOMAN 63 

gowns and ape the juvenile appearance and manners of 
the young women of the so-called '400.'" 

There is no force in such a protest. If you had seen 
this well-groomed friend of mine you would have been 
struck, not so much by her apparel as by her neat, fresh, 
and wholesome appearance, and you would have said and 
known that she would, on that account, look attractive in 
even the plainest and simplest garb. 

I am confident you will believe me when I say that 
when it comes to downright attractiveness, one cannot 
always say "Fine feathers make fine birds." My own ex- 
perience in life amply bears this out. It has been more 
varied than falls to the lot of most of my sisters. I have 
been what one might style "a gilded child of luxury," I 
have been a business woman at the head of an important 
enterprise, and I have been a toiler working more hours 
in the twenty-four and harder than most men work, yet 
at no time have I seen the day when I felt that my ap- 
parel alone made, lost, or kept my friends, while almost 
from my girlhood I have been deeply sensible of the ben- 
efit I have received and the satisfaction I have enjoyed 
from the general observance of the hygienic hints herein 
given — hints which help to make the well-groomed 
woman in the best and truest sense of the term. 




A.— 4 




CHAPTER V 

CLEANLINESS THE HANDMAID OF HEALTH 

AND BEAUTY 



Sweet beauty in her face ; such as the daughter of Agenor had. 

— Taming of the Shrew. 

KNOW and therefore maintain that women may 
keep their good looks and manage to defeat time 
at something like a sum within the reach of the 
average *' little sisters of the rich." Yes, indeed, 
and I propose to tell you how. 

Any woman, I do not care who she is — how 
modest her circumstances, nor, to put it broadly, 
what her age, can, by a little care and the practice of 
the necessary rules which are the price of perfect phy- 
sical beauty, practically defy the years to come, and, 
moreover, she can collect the interest due her on the 
years that have been defrauding her up to date. She can, 
to a great extent, get back the youth she has lost. 

(64) 




HEALTH AND BEAUTY 65 

First of all, we must bear in mind that "Cleanliness 
is next to Godliness." So far as good looks go I will not 
say it discounts in its results physically the practice of 
all the other virtues — but, to my thinking, one must be 
clean before one can be really good. Dirt and religion 
do not blend. As our cook says when the sauces fail to 
mix smoothly, they " kind of cruddle." Now to be clean 
means to scrub — yes, from head to foot every blessed day 
of one's life. "Slavery!" you may say. So it is; but 
most of us are slaves to one habit or another, and the 
bondage of soap and water is a blessing disguised. I will 
guarantee the transformation of a plain, sallow-faced, bad- 
complexioned woman, into a wholesome, rosy, bright-eyed 
daughter of the gods, within the period of six months, if 
she will follow my advice and the rules I take the lib- 
erty of prescribing. 

First of all, then, must come the daily bath taken in a 
tub with a good scrub from head to feet, including the 
face. 

The road to beauty was known to the Greek and Ro- 
man women hundreds of years ago. They did not begin 
to have the resources in cosmetic arts that we have now, 
but they understood thoroughly the two vital points in 
the pursuit of comeliness and cleanliness and health. To 
thi^ end they bathed very frequently. 

In a vague way every one supposedly knows how to 
take a bath. But how many women in a thousand know 
just what a real hygienic bath means, and how to take it? 

The great secret of beauty and comfort is in the 
health-giving bath, taken at least once each day. 



66 HARRIET HUBBARD AYER 

The water should not be too warm and should be 
made cooler by adding cold water toward the end of the 
bath, so that the temperature is a little below what we 
call tepid before the bather leaves the tub. 

It is not enough to jump into the water and dabble 
over the body with a sponge or wash cloth. 

The skin each day is loaded with the solid matters 
which are the residue of the perspiration, or with its own 
oily exudations. Unless these accumulations are daily re- 
moved by water, soap, and friction, the channels become 
choked and the secretions, unable to dislodge themselves, 
produce inflammation, which we call pimples, or present 
us with stubborn cases of hateful blackheads. 

Every woman should possess a flesh brush for the 
body, as well as a camel's hair face-scrubbing brush. 

Constantly women tell me they cannot afford to pay 
for such luxuries. At the same time they will patronize 
bargain counters, and appear in public staggering under 
the flowers, birds, and feathers of an overtowering hat. 

The camel's-hair face-scrubbing brush before men- 
tioned is especially manufactured for the purpose, and 
costs at retail one dollar and twenty-five cents. It meas- 
ures about six inches in length and five across. The 
wooden back is unvarnished, and the bristles are white 
and firm, but soft. It is easily obtainable at the larger 
drug stores. 

Use a pure soap. Just bear in mind that no soap, par- 
ticularly if largely advertised, can be made of safe and 
healing ingredients and be startlingly cheap. If your soap 
is good — made of pure vegetable oils, and fit to use on 




AMERICAN TYPE OF BEAUTY 



(67) 




(68) 



TYPE OF GOLDEN-HAIRED BEAUTY 



HEALTH AND BEAUTY 69 

the face, it will have to cost, at retail, not less than 
twenty-five cents. It cannot be manufactured and sold at 
a lower price. 

It does sometimes happen, even in these days of com- 
fort for the middle classes, that it is not possible to take 
a bath in the large tub. But at least every household is 
equipped with washtubs, and even one of these is better 
than none at all. 

Bathing in hard water is apt to make the skin coarse. 
Rain water makes a delicious bath, and when that is not 
to be obtained the water may be softened by throwing into 
it a small bag of bran. Even a bag containing a pound 
of ordinary yellow cornmeal will take the harshness away. 

Don't be afraid to use soap. Make a good lather on 
the brush and scrub away. Begin with the face and use 
a pure hygienic soap with the camel's-hair face-scrubbing 
brush. Any good, pure soap is all that is required for the 
body. Save the expensive soap for the face alone, and one 
cake will last a long time. 

A quick all-over scrub and a thorough rinsing with 
clear water will take about twenty minutes of each 
twenty-four hours. You cannot spend the time more 
profitably. 

The opinion that a hot bath is enervating is erroneous. 
On the contrary, a quick hot bath is exhilarating. A 
tepid bath is relaxing, and induces reposeful, health-giving 
sleep. 

It is not well to bathe within two hours after eating. 

The friction of a good flesh brush rouses and acceler- 
ates the circulation and prevents the gradually decreasing 



70 



HARRIET HUBBARD AYER 



energy of the circulation which accompanies age and 
hastens death. 

Sea bathing at the proper season is the most invigor- 
ating of baths and of wonderful value in strengthening 
the nervous system, but I am bound to say the sea bath 
does not improve the complexion. 




CHAPTER VI 

CLEANLINESS THE HANDMAID OF HEALTH AND 

BEAUTY — Continued 

For beauty is a witch, 
Against whose charms faith melteth into blood. 

—Shakespeare. 

RAN and almond-meal bags are excellent things 
for a luxurious bath. They are not necessary 
for the purpose we have in view, but inas- 
much as they are delicious and easily obtained 
by those who wish to purchase them, and not 
difficult to make at home by those who prefer 
to do so, I will add that they may be fotlnd 
at the usual stores devoted to toilet articles, and cost 
about twenty cents each. Here is the recipe for those 
who wish to make them at home. 

BRAN AND ALMOND-MEAL BAGS 

To three pounds of clean bran and one of Florentine orris root pul- 
verized, add one and a half pounds of almond meal and eight ounces 

(71) 




72 HARRIET HUBBARD AYER 

white Castile soap grated. Mix thoroughly. Make twentj-four bags of 
cheese-cloth about eight inches in length and five across. Put about 
five ounces in each bag, and use one bag for a bath just as you would a 
sponge. Be careful to sew the bags firmly. 

The bran or almond-meal bag will make your bath sweet 
and soft and fragrant, but it will not do away with the ne- 
cessity for soap and the scrubbing brush. If your finances 
will permit, you may also use in your bath two tablespoons 
of a bath liquid which is very delicious and fragrant. I give 
the recipe for making this also. It is easily prepared at 
home. 

BATH LIQUID 

Sweet almonds . . 32 grammes. 
Bitter almonds . . 8 grammes. 
Rose water . . . ISO grammes. 
Benzoic acid ... 1 gramme. 

Macerate the almonds until a paste is formed. Do not let them 
"oil." Strain them, and add the other ingredients. 

You may take your bath either in the morning, or at 
night just before retiring, with a preference for the night 
hour. A cold water plunge taken in the morning is a fine 
tonic, but one must be very strong and vigorous to stand 
such a bath, and when it is taken, it is best merely to 
plunge in and get out immediately. 

The temperature of the hot bath, which is taken just 
before going to bed, should not exceed 92 degrees Fahren- 
heit. Hotter than this a bath becomes very stimulating, 
and is apt to make the subject wakeful. 

A hot water bath of half a hour, taken late at night 
under favorable conditions, is extremely restful, and I know 




THREE AMERICAN TYPES OF BEAUTY 



(73) 




AUSTRIAN TYPE OF BEAUTY 



(74) 



HEALTH AND BEAUTY 75 

of no factor so potent in the preservation of a woman's 
looks and vitality. 

When I asked Sara Bernhardt how she kept her ex- 
traordinary appearance of youth, her beautiful figure, and 
her marvelous complexion, she said to me : — 

'^Hot water, my dear; I do not believe that I should 
be alive to-day were it not for my hot bath. When I am 
nervous, I take a warm bath and am rested. When I 
am tired, exhausted, I take a hot bath and am revived. 
4^nd every night after the play is over, 1 take a hot bath 
and a scrub from head to foot, with a pure soap, and am 
refreshed. I believe nothing in the world will preserve a 
woman's youth and strength and looks as warm and hot 
baths." 

Of course it is not wise to take a hot bath in the 
morning, and then, before the circulation has become 
equalized, after having been stimulated, to rush out into 
the cold or damp. 

A cold bath every morning is much safer and will be 
found equally stimulating where the subject can endure the 
shock, and many can really stand it who fancy they cannot. 

As before stated, it is very necessary to use a proper 
soap, and curiously enough, many people are economical 
about soap, while liberal in expenditures for every other 
necessity. A pure soap is one that contains no free al- 
kali, and which is composed of vegetable oils. For the 
face, the best I know of is the French hygienic, but for 
the full bath there are a number of less expensive soaps 
that are pure and satisfactory. Among these the cotton- 
seed-oil soaps are inexpensive and safe. 



76 HARRIET HUBBARD AYER 

To make a delicious perfume for the bath, one need 
only add a teaspoonful of the old-fashioned benzoin mix- 
ture, which is made as follows: — 

TOILET WATER FOR THE BATH 

Rose water 900 grammes. 

Tincture of myrrh . . 1 . 10 grammes. 
Tincture of opopanax ... 10 grammes. 
Essence of citron .... 4 grammes. 
Tincture of quillaia, q. s., to make an emulsion. 

Other good perfumes for the bath may be made as fol- 
lows : — 

HUNGARY WATER 

Pure alcohol 2 quarts. 

Essence of rosemary (Hungarian, 

if possible), 28 grammes. 

Lemon peel 14 grammes. 

Essence of balm-mint ... 14 grammes. 
Essence of peppermint ... 4 grammes. 
Extract of rose 28 centilitres. 

Mix , and let stand for two weeks. Then filter, and it is ready for 
use. 

AROMATIC VINEGAR 

Gum camphor 1 ounce. 

Oil of cloves 1 drachm. 

Oil of cedar and lavender . each 40 grains. 
Oil of bergamot and thyme . 20 grains. 

Oil of cinnamon 10 grains. 

Glacial acetic acid ^ pound. 

Mix all, pour into a large stoppered bottle, and agitate until the 
camphor is dissolved. This makes a very fine aromatic vinegar for 
the bath. Diluted with a little water, it is also most refreshing for 
the face. 




CLEO DE MERODE 

FRENCH TYPE OF BEAUTY 



(77) 




JEWISH TYPE OF BEAUTY 



(78) 



HEALTH AND BEAUTY 79 



TOILET WATER FOR MAKING THE FLESH FIRM AND SMOOTH 

Strong red-wine vinegar, "j 

Tincture of benzoin, j- 200 grammes each. 

Extract of red roses. J 

To the woman who loves a delicious addition to the 
bath, the following is recommended : — 



TOILET VINEGAR OF STRAWBERRIES 

One pound of fresh strawberries, well macerated, and one ounce of 
acetic acid, which is nothing more than very strong vinegar. Let the 
mixture stand for about twelve days and then strain through a mus- 
lin cloth. A little of this poured into the daily bath will prove de- 
lightful and invigorating. 



Turkish Baths 

A Turkish bath, taken at the proper time, is to be 
highly commended. The preliminary sweating, produced 
by the hot rooms, brings the dirt and foreign substances 
to the surface, and the subsequent scrubbing with soap 
thoroughly cleanses the skin and opens the pores. 

Women who indulge in Turkish baths should be ex- 
tremely careful about going out into the cold immediately 
after. As excellent as the Turkish bath is, there is no 
question but that the subject is liable to catch a severe 
cold, and in many cases I know that such colds have re- 
sulted in pleurisy or pneumonia. For this reason at least 
an hour should elapse after the bath is concluded, before 
the subject leaves the bathing rooms. 



80 HARRIET HUBBARD AYER 

Sulphur Baths 

Many skin affections will yield to a course of sulphur 
baths when all other treatments have failed. If it be pos- 
sible, the course should be taken at an establishment 
where medicated baths are given. If impossible, a sulphur 
bath may be taken at home. 

HOW TO PREPARE THE SULPHUR BATH AT HOME 

The bath may be prepared either by adding one ounce 
sulphuret of potassium for every ten or twelve gallons of 
water used, or one ounce sulphuret of calcium for every 
fifteen gallons of water. 

The sulphur bath is a powerful remedy in every de- 
scription of skin disease. 

The Electric Bath as a Rejuvenator 

A jaded society woman will find the electric bath her 
great ally in chasing away the marks of time and care. 
I have seen women look really ten years younger from 
the effects of one bath. Of course the refreshening is 
only temporary, but women who can afford it should 
take two electric baths a week for the tonic and invigor- 
ating effect they give. 

The electric bath is a luxury and should be taken in 
one's own home under the care of an experienced elec- 
trician and masseuse. The patient sits in a bath two-thirds 
full of water into which a generous cup of salt has been 
thrown, and the electricity is applied through a sponge 
from a battery (galvanic preferred). The current can be 




ITALIAN TYPE OF BEAUTY (OLD) 



(81) 




(82) 



ITALIAN TYPE OF BEAUTY (MODERN) 



HEALTH AND BEAUTY 83 

regulated. After the electricity has been applied, the pa- 
tient is given a hot scrub which is followed by a thor- 
ough massage treatment from head to foot. 

There are, unfortunately, but one or two skillful elec- 
tricians (women) in New York who understand how to 
give these baths successfully. The electric bath should be 
given at the patient's house. It is much wiser to employ 
a professional electrician and masseuse if possible, but un- 
less a competent person can be secured it is better to 
learn how to use a battery oneself. A ten-cell galvanic 
battery will cost about $20. This method of applying 
electricity is wonderful in its results upon the face, and 
is an important adjunct to massage in removing wrinkles. 

The current should be greatly reduced for the face; 
never stronger in my opinion, than three cells. Shocks 
are blunders, always painful, very often harmful, no mat- 
ter who is responsible, and only a very clumsy electrician 
will ^' shock" a patient in the bath. There is no excuse 
for a shock, which is the result of ignorance or careless- 
ness, and ruinous to nervous women. 

Electric baths may be taken once a week with excel- 
lent results where they are intended for a tonic only, and 
in cases of rheumatism, neuralgia, internal and ovarian 
troubles and goitre, the electric bath is often a specific, 
and may be given daily until no longer required so often. 

AROMATIC BATH FOR NERVOUS WOMEN 

Sage 25 grammes. 

Romarin 30 grammes. 

Serpolet 40 grammes. 

Menthol 15 grammes. 

Lavender flowers . . . . 25 grammes. 



84 HARRIET HUBBARD AYER 

Make an infusion in about a quart of boiling water. Let stand till 
cold. Strain. Pour the liquid into the bath; tie the leaves together 
in a bag of cheese cloth, and throw the bag into the bath also. 

BEAUTY BATH 

This bath is said to give the skin a wonderful luster 
and appearance of youth. It is made as follows: — 

Rose water 125 grammes. 

Glycerine 50 grammes. 

Pure alcohol 50 grammes. 

Tincture of benzoin ... 50 grammes. 

Boric acid 25 grammes. 

Dissolve the boric acid in the alcohol, and mix with all the other 
ingredients. 

Use as a sponge bath for the entire body. 

GELATINE BATH 

Dissolve 500 grammes of good gelatine in four quarts of water. 
Put the mixture upon the stove, so that it will melt more rapidly. 
Add the entire quantity to the bath. 

This bath is used by French women to give firmness 
to the skin. 

BATH OF THE ARISTOCRACY 

To 100 grammes of tincture of benzoin add 40 grammes of aro- 
matic vinegar. This quantity is for a large full bath to which it is to 
be added. 

In concluding this important chapter, I assert that if I 
had but one opportunity to make myself heard in this 
great world I know what I would say: — 

''If you want to be beautiful, healthy, happy, beloved, 
and live to a good old age, you must be cleanly." 

You can't be if you do not take at least one bath each 
day. Not necessarily one of the luxurious baths before 



HEALTH AND BEAUTY 



85 



described, but a ''good, plain bath,'' with plenty of soap, a 
scrubbing brush and brisk friction after it. 

Beauty alone will cause a man to fall head over ears 
in love with a woman. But personal cleanliness and per- 
fect daintiness will preserve a man's affection and respect 
as no other attribute can, for even age is charming when 
clean and wholesome. 





CHAPTER VII 



THE HAIR 




Her sunny locks 
Hang on her temples like a golden fleece. 

— Merchant of Venice. 

T IS well for every one interested in this subject to 

know that the root of the human hair, unlike that 

of a plant or tree, will, even though plucked out 

completely, reproduce itself. Every hair growing 

on a human being is really a modification of the 

cuticle. Each tiny hair consists of a root, which 

is planted in the skin in an elongative shaft, 

which projects from the root and the terminal point. 

There is a little bulbous enlargement at the extreme 

point of the hair root. 

This bulb is found in a little sacklike involution of 
the cuticle, which is called the follicle. Some hairs are 
much more deeply implanted than others, and are conse- 
quently capable of far greater resistance. Until the folli- 

(86) 



HAIR SHAFT 



5CALP LINE 

HAIR ROOT 
SEBACOOUS GLANDS 




ARRECTOR PIU nUSCLE 



ROOT SHEATHS 



CONMECTIVE TISSUE. 



HAIR FOLLICLE 



HAIR BULB 
HAIR PAPULA 
f AT CELLS 



THE ANATOMY OF A SINGLE HAIR 



(87) 




HOW TO 



BRUSH THE HAIR (ALWAYS BACK) 



(88) 



THE HAIR 89 

cle itself is destroyed, the hair will reproduce itself. The 
orifice of the sebaceous glands opens into the follicle, and 
in these glands nature prepares the oily substance which 
gives the hair a gloss and smoothness. When the follicle 
is dead, the place becomes, of course, what we term bald, 
and the peculiar smooth, shiny look apparent on many a 
bald head is a sure proof of the death of the hair folli- 
cle, but so long as there is life, the fact that the hair is 
falling out should be by no means disheartening. 

The quantity, quality, and texture of the hair are gov- 
erned by heredity, temperament, and the general health 
of the patient, and depend much, of course, upon the care 
received. Nervous people have usually less hair than 
those of a more phlegmatic temperament. So long as 
the blood circulates with healthy vigor through the scalp, 
the hair will be in a greater or less degree luxuriant and 
strong. There is always something wrong with the circu- 
lation in the scalp when the hair begins to fall, and, as 
we say, to grow thin. Excepting sickness and hereditary 
or constitutional causes, the chief reason for falling hair, 
and indeed for almost all hair ailments, is the lack of 
care from which the hair almost universally suffers. 

The essential needs of the hair are scrupulous cleanli- 
ness, ventilation and friction. For some inscrutable rea- 
son, few people are willing to concede that the scalp 
requires to be washed often enough to keep it decently 
clean. I do not hesitate to say that in all ordinary cases 
the hair should be washed thoroughly at least once a 
week, and oftener if exposed to much dust or dirt, or if 
there is an inclination to dandruff. 

A.— 5 



90 HARRIET HUBBARD AYER 

Causes of Unhealthy Hair 

When the hair persistently suffers from loss of vital- 
ity, it is usually from one or more of the following causes : 
uncleanliness, mismanagement, anxiety, disease (particu- 
larly dyspepsia), want of exercise, overwork, mental strain, 
and the use of harmful so-called restorers and tonics. 
These same causes frequently produce and increase the 
gray hairs that appear on a woman's head, one or two at 
a time, at about five and thirty, and a little later usually 
on the heads of the other sex. 

For falling of the hair, massage of the scalp (see de- 
tailed description, page 121) is often wonderful in its ben- 
eficial results. It will frequently arrest the loss at once, 
or within twenty-four hours, plainly showing that the cir- 
culation was impaired and required stimulating. 

The electric brush — by which I mean a brush attached 
to a battery, as there is no such thing as an electric brush 
in reality, except one through which a current of electric- 
ity is passed — will be of great assistance in stimulating 
the circulation of the scalp. In addition to this a good 
tonic should be used locally, but none of these remedies 
will be more than temporarily effective if the general 
health is impaired, particularly if there is a derangement 
of the digestive organs. In such cases, the subject should 
at once seek a remedy for the producing cause. 

The coloring matter of the hair has been scientifically 
shown to consist of the mineral ingredients in the pig- 
ment of the cells. These minerals change with age and 
health, and vary in individuals. Very blond hair contains 



THE HAIR 91 

a large proportion of magnesia ; iron predominates in 
black hair ; chestnut and browns contain a large amount 
of sulphur. When the iron or sulphur pigment fails, the 
hair becomes gray, and as iron appears to fail earlier than 
sulphur, black hair is oftener found turning gray in youth 
than any other color. Sulphur comes next, and the mag- 
nesia resists longer than any of the others, for which reason 
blond hair often retains its youthful beauty and luster far 
beyond middle age. 

The reason the golden hair of little children darkens 
as they grow older is because the hair pigment changes, 
the sulphur or iron increasing and becoming more power- 
ful than the magnesia. Because of the demonstration of 
these chemicals in the hair pigment, a theory has been 
expounded and has attracted many otherwise sensible peo- 
ple to the effect that the lacking minerals of the hair pig- 
ment can be replaced and the hair thus restored to its 
natural color by rubbing the scalp with pomatums or 
lotions highly impregnated with sulphur or iron. I have 
been told many times in most profound seriousness that 
the hair bulbs readily absorbed the minerals, with a con- 
sequent restoration of the original pigment — but I have 
never seen the miracle effected. 




CHAPTER VIII 



THE HAIR — Continued 




The loose train of thy amber drooping hair. 

— Milton. 

F 'POETS and prose writers and painters and every- 
day men had not from the beginning of the world 
sung and written and painted and praised golden- 
haired beauties, there would be no occasion for 
these humiliating remarks of mine. If we had 
not had golden-haired sirens flung at us from 
babyhood, we never would have been the streaky- 
headed frights we are at this moment — some of us. 

But I want to ask seriously the women who are slaves 
to the peroxide bottle: "Does it pay? Is it worth the 
price ? Does it pay in the first place to enter into any 
kind of bondage voluntarily?" For artificially acquired 
and maintained golden hair is a bondage compared to 
which Egyptian servitude appears, by all accounts, to have 
been lightsome and diverting. 

(92) 




AN ARTIST'S MODEL FAMED FOR LUXURIANT HAIR— No. 1 



(93) 




(94) 



AN ARTIST'S MODEL FAMED FOR LUXURIANT HAIR — No. 2 



THE HAIR 95 

To begin with, as every " peroxidian " knows to her 
cost, bleached hair never remains the same shade, and 
never by any happy chance looks like the natural golden 
locks. It will deceive many men, — which is something, — 
but never another woman. 

If once made yellow, it should stay so, one thinks, but 
it never does. On the contrary, as though it really were 
possessed of an independent spirit, the original color of 
the hair is forever unexpectedly asserting itself — just 
when it should not. It has a truly maddening way of 
showing up, despite all the skill of the peroxide experts 
on the face of the earth. Those awful telltale, dark roots, 
those lustreless tow-colored ends — the bleached woman is 
always conscious of both. For though you religiously ab- 
stain from touching any part but the roots of the hair with 
the colorless liquid, the roots never say dye, nor yet bleach. 

The cause of this failure to bleach the roots is easy 
to understand. The hair pigment is more copious at the 
roots and the continuous growth — of necessity — makes 
the dark line at about half an inch from the scalp. The 
contrary is the case with the hair from about three 
inches from the roots, which becomes lighter and more of 
a telltale at each application. 

At the very best, a bleached blonde is never easy in 
her mind for a moment. Either she has just applied the 
peroxide and feels sure that it is unevenly done, and glar- 
ingly metallic in color, or she is conscious that she needs 
touching up about the temples and at the back of the 
head — one or the other of the telltale spots. She is tied 
down to a bottle of peroxide of hydrogen for the rest of 



96 HARRIET HUBBARD AYER 

her life, and if, as is devoutly to be hoped for all women, 
she is some man's idol, ten to one she has deceived him 
as to her lovely golden hair, and her slavery is more un- 
bearable from the awful fear of discovery. Wherever she 
goes she must take her peroxide. Just so often she must 
apply it. It takes about one day to do this satisfactorily. 
But the self -consciousness of presuming to be something 
one is not, the anxiety concerning the awful telltale spots 
at the roots, the time and trouble required for the ever- 
recurring treatments are only a very minor part of the 
price a bleached blonde pays for her locks of gold. 

Just as soon as a woman bleaches her hair, — profes- 
sional women always excepted, — she invites most unpleas- 
ant criticism from both men and women, strangers and 
acquaintances. When a woman by design makes herself 
conspicuous, she must accept the consequences. The con- 
sequences usually are that she is regarded lightly, and al- 
though she may be, and often is, a girl or woman of 
unblemished character, her appearance belies her, and she 
suffers the truly awful humiliation of failing to evoke 
immediate respect wherever she may happen to be. 

At this cost, I find the price paid for the most lovely 
golden locks ever produced artificially much too high. 

But to those of my sex who insist on yellow hair and 

who desire a harmless bleach, I give directions for the 

process : — 

Peroxide of Hydrogen 

Get a bottle of chemically pure peroxide of hydrogen. 
Before making the application, the hair should be thor- 
oughly washed and dried. Pour a little of the peroxide 



THE HAIR 97 

into a saucer, and apply to the roots of the hair with a 
tooth brush. You must regulate the color by your own 
observation. One application will produce a most notice- 
able change. 

Never use ammonia in connection with peroxide of 
hydrogen. Hair dressers have a fashion of "preparing" 
the hair, as they term it, by bleaching, and in order to 
hasten the bleaching process, they use ammonia. 

Peroxide of hydrogen will not injure the hair, if care- 
fully used, but in connection with ammonia it will, in the 
course of time, destroy the constitution of the hair. 

The effect of peroxide is always to make the ends of 
the hair very much lighter; the color has been literally 
taken out of the hair and there is no way of restoring the 
bleached ends. You will have to have the hair dyed or 
stained. I do not think any one can personally keep the 
hair an even shade by the aid of a bleach, and there is 
really no other process that is not injurious. The hair 
can be kept slightly brightened by the use of diluted per- 
oxide, but the roots of the hair will always be the origi- 
nal color as the hair grows out. 

In order to keep your hair a uniform color when you 
are using an artificial preparation, you should have the 
services of some one who understands the matter thor- 
oughly. Nothing can prevent the hair from growing out 
its original color, and there is always a difference for about 
a half inch from the root. Only a person very skillful in 
the art can touch up the roots successfully. 

To turn bleached blond hair back to its original color, 
have it dyed or let it grow out its natural color. After it 



98 HARRIET HUBBARD AYER 

has grown out, if you choose to bleach it again, you can 
do so without injury, but it would not do to rebleach or 
attempt to rebleach the dyed hair. 

Peroxide of hydrogen is also a bleach for the eyebrows. 
It would first lighten the color and finally would turn 
them a golden shade. 

I do not think the peroxide treatment adapted to the 
eyebrows. 

Peroxide of hydrogen diluted half and half with water 
will turn dark brown hair an auburn shade. 

When muddy brown hair is at its best it is not beau- 
tiful. When it loses its lustre it is extremely unbecoming 
and robs a woman of color and style. It can be bright- 
ened by washing it, after a thorough shampoo, with a tea- 
spoonful of chemically pure peroxide of hydrogen, diluted 
in a teacupful of water. Wet the hair thoroughly with it 
and fan it until dry. 

Gray Hair 

Prematurely gray hair is usually an inheritance from 
father to daughter or from mother to son, or it may come 
from a generation or two back. Many people ask me for 
something which will change black hair to silver white, 
and do away with the yellow shade. There is no harm- 
less preparation which will effect this desirable result. I 
have not seen a homemade dye which was not plainly 
perceptible ; and though I give recipes for them, I do 
not advise their use when a first-class proprietary arti- 
cle can be obtained. 



THE HAIR 99 

I give a formula for a hair dye, but I want to say 
candidly that I think homemade hair dyes are rarely, if 
ever, successful. In order to make a thoroughly good 
hair dye, the services of a skillful chemist are required. 

HAIR DYE 

Pyrogalic acid, one -quarter of an ounce ; distilled water (hot), one 
and one-half ounces. Dissolve. When the solution is cool add one- 
half ounce of alcohol. Pyrogalic acid is extracted from Chinese nut- 
galls. The hair should always be thoroughly washed before applying 
the dye. 

I repeat that while this is an excellent hair dye, I do 
not think it is successful as usually made by an amateur. 

To stain the hair slightly the above dye may be diluted with two 
or three times its weight of soft water and a little more alcohol. 

A ONCE-FAMOUS HAIR DYE 

Precipitated sulphur .... 1 drachm. 

Acetate of lead 1 drachm. 

Rose water 4 ounces. 

This dye was famous during the Mexican War, and its 
inventor made a fortune out of it. 1 do not myself be- 
lieve in lead hair dyes. 

The Turkish Method of Applying Henna Leaves to 

THE Hair 

In Turkey the women very much affect the Titian-red 
tresses which are to-day so much in vogue in America. 

The reddish tint is produced by henna leaves as in 
America, but the Oriental method of applying the color is 
different. 



100 HARRIET HUBBARD AYER 

The Turkish women grind the henna leaves to an impalpable pow- 
der. They make a paste of this powder by mixing enough boiling 
water to it to produce a thin paste. While yet warm the mixture is 
applied to the hair and allowed to remain on the head from a quarter 
of an hour to two hours, according to the shade of red desired. The 
henna is removed by rinsing in several clear waters. 

My own opinion, as I have announced it previously on 
the subject, is that the best results are obtained by patro- 
nizing one of the v^ell-known manufacturers or hair dressers 
who make a specialty of coloring the hair any shade the 
customer desires. 






CHAPTER IX 
THE HAIR — Continued 

"Fair tresses man's imperial race ensnare, 
And beauty draws us by a single hair."— Pope. 

CURF, or dandruff, unless in a most aggravated 
form, is not a disease. It is the result of neg- 
lect, or, in plain English, uncleanliness. Scurf, 
^ or furfura, is a natural and healthy formation 

and very frequently is produced by rapidly 
growing and very luxuriant hair. You may 
keep dandruff from accumulating, but you can- 
not prevent its formation. When the scurf is excessive, 
despite great cleanliness, it denotes an unhealthy condi- 
tion of the scalp. In such cases, the following lotion may 
be used, but always in conjunction with very frequent 
washings: — 

Extract of rosemary ....... 1 drachm. 

Tincture of cantharides 1 drachm. 

Solution of carbonate of potassium . 1^ drachms. 

Distilled water 4 fluid ounces. 

(101) 



102 HARRIET HUBBARD AYER 

Where there is ibching with the scurf or dandruff, the 
cause is sometimes found to be parasitical. In such cases, 
washing the head frequently with a good bichloride of 
mercury soap is most effective. This soap can be pur- 
chased at any drug store. 

The following oubstances are also employed for removing 
parasites : Naphthol, mercurial ointment, tobacco, cocculus- 
indicus, pyrethrum, carbolic acid, and sulphur. Any of these 
remedies can be procured in the form of powders, lotions, 
and ointments, and some in the form of soap. A good drug- 
gist will be your best guide in the matter. Naphthol and 
corrosive sublimate are well adapted for the cleanly removal 
of the parasites. Pure naphthol and pure kerosene are too 
inflammable and malodorous to be recommended as applica- 
tions. If used, they should be rendered less dangerous by 
mixing them with olive oil. Soda, borax, vinegar, alcohol, and 
diluted acetic acid are useful also for destroying the nits. 

Allies of these parasites in their invasion are a low 
tone of the system, induced by poor and insufficient diet, 
also bad ventilation, and other unhygienic conditions. 
These constitute, under the circumstance, a true disease, 
and it is necessary in such cases that the sufferer should 
be invigorated by tonics, and at the same time that all 
depressing influences be removed. 

VIGIER'S REMEDY FOR PARASITES 

Doctor Vigier declares that the following formula will 
destroy parasitical life. It may be used upon the face or 
head: 

Bichloride of mercury in solution 5 grammes. 
Glycerine 100 grammes. 



THE HAIR 103 

TO KEEP THE HAIR AND SCALP HEALTHY 

To prevent dandruff always use scrupulously clean hair 
brushes and do not use a fine comb. Do not wear any- 
thing which will heat the head. The following is recom- 
mended as a most excellent preventive of dandruff: — 

Tincture of cantharides . . 1 ounce. 

Liquid ammonia .... 1 drachm. 

Glycerine ^ ounce. 

Oil thyme J drachm. 

Rosemary oil ^ drachm. 

Mix all together with six ounces of rose water. Rub the scalp 
thoroughly with this preparation until no further evidence of dandruff 
is noticed. 

To keep the hair and scalp both in a healthy condi- 
tion, it is necessary that they should be kept scrupulously 
clean. 

SHAMPOO FOR DANDRUFF 

Yolk of one egg, one pint of hot rain water, one ounce of spirit 
of rosemary ; beat the mixture up thoroughly, and use it warm, rubbing 
it well into the skin of the head. Rinse thoroughly in several waters. 
This wash is good for dandruff where the ordinary shampoo fails. 

' TO CLEANSE THE SCALP 

This is by no means easy with some constitutions. 
Lately I have heard of the wonderful effect produced by 
rubbing the scalp with a fresh lime. I advise subjects 
with obstinate cases to try this : — 

Divide the fruit in two, and as you need it, cut it for a fresh sur- 
face. At the end of a week wash the head with a yolk of an egg 
beaten in half a pint of warm water ; afterward rinse thoroughly, and 
repeat the whole process at the end of another week, if necessary. 



104 HARRIET HUBBARD AYER 

Eczema of the Scalp 

A good remedy for eczema of the scalp can be pre- 
pared as follows : — 

Cocoa butter, twenty grammes ; spermaceti, ten grammes ; salicylic 
acid, two grammes. Mix in pomade. Then apply to the affected 
spots. Allow the pomade to remain on all night. Wear a nightcap, 
if possible, to prevent soiling the bed linen. In the morning wash the 
whole head carefully and gently with a pure hygienic soap and warm 
water. Rinse and dry thoroughly. Repeat this operation night and 
morning as long as necessary. 

Falling Hair 

Where there is great physical debility and a great fail- 
ure of health in connection with the falling hair, a course 
of tonic medicines taken internally is often very service- 
able. A few excellent hair tonics to be used externally 
are made as follows: — 

FOR FALLING HAIR 

Phenic acid 2 grammes. 

Tincture of nux vomica . . 7^ grammes. 
Tincture of red cinchona . . 30 grammes. 
Tincture of cantharides . . 2 grammes. 

Cologne 120 grammes. 

Sweet almond oil . ... 60 grammes. 

Apply to the roots of the hair with a soft sponge once or twice 
a day. This lotion is especially good for very dry hair. 

THE JABARONDI TONIC FOR FALLING HAIR 

This tonic is not a very late discovery. It has been 
used for some time and is excellent for falling hair. It 
is made as follows : — 



THE HAIR 105 

Hjdrochlorate of pilocarpine . . 6 grains. 
Tincture of jabarondi .... 4 drachms. 

Spirit of rosemary .2 drachms. 

Yellow vaseline 4 ounces. 

Alcohol .4 ounces. 

It must be applied to the scalp every night. Rub it in thor- 
oughly. 

WHEN THE HAIR HAS FALLEN OUT AFTER FEVER 

This is very successful when the hair falls out after a 
fever: — 

Cologne 8 ounces. 

Tincture of cantharides ... 1 ounce. 
Oil of English lavender ... ^ drachm. 

Oil of rosemary ^ drachm. 

Apply to the roots of the hair once or twice a day. 

It is positively necessary that the scalp should be kept 
clean. Shampoo at least once a week. 

CASTOR-OIL HAIR TONIC 

Castor oil . 80 grammes. 

Bay rum 80 grammes. 

Tincture of cantharides . . 10 grammes. 

Twisting the hair tightly at night is a very injurious 
habit. The hair needs ventilation, and to prevent the 
free circulation of the air through its roots not only 
interferes with the growth of new hair, but weakens the 
roots of the old. Every woman should brush her hair 
carefully at night before going to bed and braid it loosely 
for the night toilet. 

A child's hair should be washed at least once a week. 
The olive-oil soap shampoo mentioned on page 520 is best 



106 HARRIET HUBBARD AYER 

for children's hair : First wet the hair thoroughly with 
warm water, then rub the shampoo mixture well into the 
roots. Rinse thoroughly in several waters. Then care- 
fully dry. 

Foreign Remedies for Falling Hair 

Doctor Monin, the celebrated French hygienist, highly 
extols the following preparation for falling hair: — 

White vaseline .... 40 grammes. 

Castor oil 20 grammes. 

Gallic acid 5 grammes. 

Essence of lavender . . 10 drops. 

For premature baldness, I have tried Professor Lassar's 
treatment with great success. The hair is first washed 
with a good tar soap. It is afterwards rinsed with warm 
water, and then a cooler water. The hair is partially 
dried, and the following wash applied with friction to the 
scalp : — 

Solution of corrosive sublimate (5 %) . . . 150 grammes. 
Glycerine and cologne water each . . . « 50 grammes. 

After thoroughly rubbing this solution into the scalp, 
rub it with alcohol to which a little 5 per cent, napthol 
has been added. Let the hair dry, after which the scalp 
must again be rubbed with a liniment made as follows: — 

Salicylic acid 2 grammes. 

Tincture of benzoin ... 3 grammes. 
Sweet almond oil . . . 100 grammes. 




CHAPTER X 



THE HAIR — Continued 




You should "be women, 
And yet your beards forbid me to interpret 
That you are so. — Macbeth. 

ERHAPs you think there is nothing pathetic in 
the condition of a woman who, having com- 
mitted no sin, finds herself the object of a 
lifelong punishment in the shape of a mous- 
tache. 

Yes, I know it is the custom to laugh at 
women with beards, but you may believe me 
when I tell you that the poor creatures thus disfigured 
weep and suffer, and sometimes have actually died from 
the mortification and shame. I may also add that of all 
the punishments meted out to our sex, the one that is the 
ugliest to bear — superfluous hair — is the one that prac- 
tically defies science, and for which up to this writing 
there is no certain cure, electrolysis excepted. 



108 HARRIET HUBBARD AYER 

There are innumerable depilatories which will tempo- 
rarily rid one of the nuisance, and there is the electric 
needle which will kill the root, if it happens to strike in 
the very center. When one considers the size of even a 
coarse hair, and the chances of striking the exact center 
of that hair follicle with a needle guided by the very 
steadiest hand, one imperfectly realizes the chances for 
failure and success. Besides this, electrolysis is very 
expensive, and fate has dealt moustaches to the rich and 
poor with equal lavishness. 

One thing we may be thankful for in this matter. It 
isn't much, but it is a step in the right direction. We no 
longer supinely submit to moustaches and bearded chins and 
die a thousand deaths daily under the impression that they 
are special dispensations of Providence. Moustaches upon 
women's faces are the effect of a cause, just as everything 
else is. One of these days we shall find out the cause per- 
haps. Until that blessed hour arrives, the women who are 
afflicted with beards may keep fairly busy dealing with effect. 

You may not credit my assertion that in your moth- 
er's and my time, it was considered, so to speak, flying in 
the face of Providence for a woman to try and get rid of 
a facial defect, no matter how disfiguring. But I assure 
you it was so. 

When I was in the West, a year or two ago, I spoke 
to a charming old friend of mine on this and kindred 
topics, and I asked her if the women of her day looked 
as pretty at forty as those of the present time. And she 
replied: ''Why, women of sixty-five to-day don't look as 
old as we did at forty." 



THE HAIR 109 

Now, this sweet old acquaintance of mine is nearly 
eighty years of age, and she is a saint, if ever there were 
one. It is said that she has not missed a Wednesday 
evening Methodist prayer meeting but once since she ex- 
perienced a change of heart when she was sixteen, and 
that one time was the Wednesday of the great Chicago 
fire. 

She said that she "felt mad clean through to this hour" 
when she thought of a certain beautiful schoolmate of 
hers who was the flower of the flock until about her eight- 
eenth year, when a growth of superfluous hair appeared 
on her face, so disfiguring that she secluded herself and 
literally broke her heart over her affliction. 

When a worldly aunt suggested seeing a surgeon, and 
endeavored to get the deformity removed, the girl's father, 
who was a deacon in the church, held up his hands in 
holy horror, and declared that some awful punishment 
would be meted out to people who attempted to interfere 
with the Lord's will. 

" If the Lord gave Charity Ross whiskers," he said, " He 
had some good reason. Most likely she was settin' too 
much store by her good looks and must be took down." 

Poor Charity Ross ! She was " took down " sure enough, 
and sleeps in a narrow grave, dead at twenty-two from a 
broken heart, because of this affliction. 

My old friend, when she related this story to me, was 
filled even yet with righteous wrath, and she said with 
flushed face and sparkling eyes: — 

"Hattie, don't you ever fail to improve a woman's 
looks when you can, and do help the poor things with 



110 HARRIET HUBBARD AYER 

moustaches. It is missionary work just as much as any 
other." 

Now I should not tell you the truth if I were to say 
that by the use of ordinary depilatories you can do more 
than keep the affliction in abeyance, but this certainly 
can be done. There are a lot of absolutely useless depila- 
tories upon the market, and there are several that will 
accomplish the temporary removal of superfluous hair 
without pain or danger, if properly applied, and which, if 
temporary, answer every purpose, inasmuch as they may 
be used whenever required. They are inexpensive, rela- 
tively speaking, and do not require the services of a phy- 
sician or dermatologist. 

Electrolysis, when successful, is beyond all question the 
sure cure for superfluous hair, but, unfortunately, the elec- 
tric needle fails in about ninety cases in one hundred; that 
is to say, the operation of destroying the hair root is so 
extremely delicate, that the needle, even when directed by 
scientific and expert hands, strikes the center of the hair 
root only about ten times in a hundred. The operation, 
when unsuccessful, may be repeated over and over, and 
it has been in one case within my knowledge until every 
hair root has been killed, but it required infinite patience, 
months of precious time, great endurance, — as it is very 
painful, — and the cost was for the treatment to which I 
refer, five hundred dollars. If you conclude to try elec- 
trolysis, go to the best specialist, or you may add a collec- 
tion of white scars to your growth of superfluous hair. 

In giving a formula for a depilatory which is effective 
and harmless when properly applied, I wish to say that 



THE HAIR 111 

the compounding of this preparation — said to be the in- 
vention of Doctor Boetger — should only he intrusted to a 
first-class chemist. This depilatory is highly praised by 
Doctor Monin, the eminent French authority. It is made 
by passing a current of sulphureted hydrogen through a 
thick layer of quicklime until the latter is thoroughly 
saturated. After this take of 

Sulphydrate of quicklime . . 20 grammes. 

Glycerinated starch ... 10 grammes. 

Pulverized starch .... 10 grammes. 

Essence of lemon .... 10 drops. 

Apply a little of the compound lightly to the afilicted 
skin. Let it remain twenty or thirty minutes. Wash off 
gently with warm water. If it begins to smart before the 
time mentioned, wash it off. The hair will come with it. 
Apply a little cold cream to allay any redness or irrita- 
tion. This preparation, I beg to repeat, is dangerous, and 
should be carefully kept where children cannot reach it. 

To remove superfluous hair from the arms, get an ordi- 
nary five-cent cake of pumice stone. This is not pumice 
soap, but the regular old-fashioned pumice stone. To 
remove the hair, rub the skin afflicted with the super- 
fluous growth, and the pumice stone will wear the hair 
off. Be careful not to be too heroic and irritate the skin. 
In case the arms are made red by this treatment, use a 
little cold cream. The pumice stone is best used on the 
arms at night before retiring. The hair on the arms may 
be kept so close to the skin by this method that it can- 
not be seen. Of course the hair will grow again, and must 
be removed from time to time. 



112 



HARRIET HUBBARD AYER 



Peroxide of hydrogen will, if used frequently, bleach 
the hair upon the arms, and if mixed half and half with 
ammonia will in time destroy the constitution of the hair. 
It will not prevent the growth of new hair, however, which 
will appear the original color. 

Recently the old-fashioned method of removing super- 
fluous hair by means of the tweezers has been revived. It 
is said that the application of a little subnitrate of bis- 
muth and glycerine to the parts immediately after the 
hair had been plucked out by the aid of the tweezers, 
will prevent the reappearance of the growth. The plaster- 
stick composed of Burgundy pitch and beeswax is another 
mechanical and temporary remedy. The stick is heated 
to a melting point, clapped on the hairy part, allowed to 
remain in contact with the skin till cold, then sharply 
withdrawn, bringing the hair with it. 





DnDDDDbs; 



DDDDDDDDDDaDQ, 



CHAPTER XI 



THE HAIR — Concluded 




Shine out, little head, running over with curls. — Tennyson. 

AD Nature been always the kind dame we love 
to paint her, she had bestowed a lovelock or 
two upon each of us, and in so doing she 
would have eliminated from our summer one 
of its most distressing accompaniments — the 
withered bang, the limp and straightened Hy- 
perion curl a la mode of to-day. The gener- 
ally done-up appearance we present when the curl has 
departed from our forelocks is one of our summer agonies, 
and too well we know how the glory of the hair dresser 
(be he never so skillful) is eclipsed in one brief half-hour 
of seaside fog. 

It is said that persons with naturally curling hair are 
always possessed of more lovable and sweeter natures 
than those with wiry or straight capillary adornments, 
and small credit to them, say I. On most occasions in 

(113) 



114 HARRIET HUBBARD AYER 

this pilgrimage, the fact that we are looking our best is 
a wonderful incentive to good behavior, and the woman 
with natural curls can discount her straight-haired sister 
in the way of appearances many a time and oft. She 
knows it ; why should she not be amiable ? Think of the 
picture a curly-haired woman makes of herself in the surf, 
with her tiny ringlets blowing and coquetting at every 
turn. Why should she not reflect complacency of spirit? 
Look at the straight-haired "miserable" as she endeavors 
to sneak to her bath-house from her dip, the one thought 
uppermost in her mind expressed in her stern and wretched 
countenance: "Oh, my hair, my awful, awful hair, with 
every bit of wave taken out of it. How like a fright I 
look!" 

The sad sea wave is a merry, reckless trifle compared 
to the somber, straight-haired, drenched, and desperate- 
looking woman bather. And the hops and yachting par- 
ties ! What chance is there for her of the wiry locks if 
there be a curly-haired girl about — a girl whose hair 
grows prettier, more irresistible, more dangerously attrac- 
tive from the very exposure to fogs or exercise, that ruin 
the looks of the lass with the straight wisps where crimps 
have been. 

It would have been more just, I consider, to have let 
the beauty of waving locks go unattended by special vir- 
tues. 

The straight-haired martyrs should have been at least 
the recipients of the sweetness that is alleged to belong 
to curls. If we can't be beautiful we ought in justice to 
have been created sweet of temper. 



THE HAIR 115 

When it comes to artificial methods for making the 
straight hair crooked, or to be more correct, wavy, why- 
there are many so-called curling fluids, curlines, and the 
like. 

They are rarely satisfactory, as they all contain gela- 
tinous ingredients and result in giving the hair a stiffness 
of texture that is disagreeable and unbecoming in most 
cases. 

I give a formula for a curline, but I must frankly say 
I prefer the curls formed by the old-fashioned rubber curl- 
ers or even by the curling iron. 

Naturally the curling iron must be used with discre- 
tion, and care must be taken not to burn the hair. 

As good a curline as any is made as follows: — 

Gum arable (finest white) ... 1 ounce. 

Moist sugar (good) ^ ounce. 

Pure water (hot) £ pint. 

Dissolve. To the solution, when cold, add of 

Rectified spirit 2 fluid ounces. 

Corrosive sublimate (powdered) . 6 grains. 

Sal ammoniac (powdered) ... 6 grains, 

the last two being dissolved in the spirit before the admixture. Lastly, 
add enough water to make the whole measure a pint, with a little 
esprit de rose, eau de cologne, or eau de lavande, to scent it. The 
hair is moistened with the fluid before putting it in papers or papil- 
lotes, or using irons. 

Hair Curled to Last Three Weeks 

A few years back a hair dresser in Paris acquired re- 
nown for a process of permanently curling or waving the 
hair. The coiffeur liberally advertised, and the rush to his 



116 HARRIET HUBBARD AYER 

establishment was something amazing to see. Women 
waited hours for even an opportunity to make an ap- 
pointment for ''the permanent curling," and the payment 
of sometimes ten times the advertised price (five dollars) 
would secure a few hours advance in the longed-for serv- 
ices of the besieged hair dresser, but more frequently en- 
gagements were made six weeks ahead. It was certain 
that a fortune as well as fame awaited the individual 
who had invented the process for keeping the hair per- 
manently in curl. 

Being in Paris I availed myself of an opportunity ar- 
dently desired to secure waving ringlets, and, after pleading 
earnestly, almost tearfully, with the coiffeur's ''secretary" 
(if you please), I was told that as an especial favor I might 
have my hair treated one week from the date of the re- 
ception of my prayer, if I could be, without fail, at the 
hair dresser's establishment at six in the morning. I 
eagerly promised, and I smile now as I look back on that 
summer morning and remember with what zeal I arose 
at daybreak and how to the minute I kept my appoint- 
ment. The thought of waving tresses, the hope of never 
again having to wrestle with hot irons and alcohol lamps 
was exciting, and gave quite a zest to life. 

When I reached the celebrated M. Eugene's shop, I was 
ushered into a little room. My hair was quickly taken 
down, and brushed by a young woman assistant. It was 
then thoroughly moistened with a liquid, after which, with 
a dramatic gesture, the young person walked to the door 
at the rear of the room and said : " Madame est prete, 
Monsieur!" 



THE HAIR 117 

Immediately a small, dark-haired man appeared, bear- 
ing two sets of curling irons and a little stove. The irons 
were heated, and with many a twist and wrench, every 
blessed hair on my egotistical head was given a curl. 
The operation was neither painless nor soothing. Quite 
the contrary. The odor of the liquid as it dried beneath 
the heat of the iron was offensive. I wondered if I should 
be permanently odorous as well as curled. It was too 
high a price to pay even for ringlets. The coiffeur was a 
stern and majestic gentleman who wielded a curling iron 
as a king his scepter. I dared not remonstrate. 

When the curling was over, his majesty departed, and 
I was allowed to cool; then my hair was combed and 
dressed, and I can truthfully say it was curled. I could 
not have believed there was so much curl in twenty heads 
of hair. I seemed to have developed suddenly a most 
wonderful case of mature rickets. My head was four times 
its size, and I reflected with bitterness that it was guar- 
anteed permanent. When I reached my hotel, my travel- 
ing companions shrieked with glee at my Circassian Lady 
hirsute adornment, and they sang me Lear's nonsense 
rhyme about a ''bird that was three times as big as a 
bush." I was as anxious to get rid of my curls as I had 
been to acquire them. I accordingly sent for an every- 
day hair dresser, and had my hair thoroughly washed. 
Alas! It was permanently curled and no mistake; and 
later when an eminent French chemist called, and I hys- 
terically explained the sudden swelling of my head, and 
told him what I had done, I was not much consoled to 
have him tell me that my hair had been treated with the 



118 HARRIET HUBBARD AYER 

process used by the pelt moDgers (somewhat modified) to 
obtain and fix a curl in certain skins, and called a "secret- 
age." The method is to moisten the hair for one-half its 
length with the secretage which is made as follows: — 

SECRETAGE OR PERMANENT CURLING FLUID 

Quicksilver 1 drachm. 

Acqua fortis . 2 ounces, 

dissolve; dilute before using to half its volume with an 
equal volume of water. Care should be taken that neither 
the liquid nor the moistened hair, until it has been sub- 
sequently washed, touches the skin. The moistened hair 
is loosely adjusted into the desired curls by the aid of 
oiled curl papers (this was not done in my case) and per- 
mitted to dry; after five or six hours, the hair is washed 
and dried, and on being gently combed it will curl or wave. 
The hair will retain the curl or wave four or five weeks. 
In my own case it lasted a little over three, despite fre- 
quent washings. 

The process is highly objectionable, and cannot but be 
injurious to the hair, although it seems at times to have 
no immediate harmful effect on vigorous hair. It will per- 
manently curl. I have proved that fact. 





No. 1 — FIRST MOVEMENT IN SCALP MASSAGE 



(119) 




No. 2— MASSAGE GENTLY IN LINE OF PART 



(120) 





CHAPTER XII 
SCALP MASSAGE 

Gray hairs are death's blossoms. — Schiller. 

^HEN the hair falls out or gets very dry and 
breaks; when it is excessively oily; when the 
roots are always damp from perspiration, there 
is something wrong with the circulation. 

As before stated, proper scalp massage will, 
in many cases, bring back a normal circula- 
tion, and this means that the hair will re- 
ceive nourishment and ventilation which must stimulate 
growth and arrest decline and decay. 

In giving scalp massage, first loosen the hair and part 
it in the center. Place the hands in the position shown 
in the first picture and gently push the fingers into the 
scalp and forward at the same time. Repeat this opera- 
tion all over the head until every portion of the scalp has 
been massaged. 

The second movement is a rolling motion. As shown in 
the second picture, the operator places the tips of the fingers 

(121) 



122 HARRIET HUBBARD AYER 

on the scalp and presses gently but firmly in a rotary motion. 
This movement also must be repeated all over the scalp. 

The third illustration shows the ripple movement. The 
operator's hands are first held above the subject's head. 
Then to make the movement the hands are brought 
sharply down on the scalp, the fingers closing at the in- 
stant they touch. 

To relieve a nervous headache a stroking movement is 
employed, always from the face toward the back of the 
head, as indicated in the fourth picture. 

Massage at the base of the brain, using the first two 
movements, as here described, will frequently relieve the 
congestive headaches from which so many persons who 
lead sedentary lives suffer. 

In brushing the hair make always a side stroke. Do 
not brush the hair directly down from the roots. Brush 
from the front, off the brow, as in the fifth illustration. 
Part the hair down the center of the back and brush 
from the scalp toward the front. 

Scalp massage bids fair to supersede the old heroic 
treatments for baldness or prospective baldness, and in 
many cases where the hair falls out because of a nervous, 
heated condition of the scalp, a single course of scalp mas- 
sage will, without lotions or tonics, as they are called, re- 
store the hair to health and vigor. 

As in facial massage, great care should be taken in 
choosing your masseuse. An iguorant operator can do 
much harm, and unfortunately there are many who give 
what they are pleased to call a scalp massage treatment 
from which the unhappy victim derives no benefit, but 
pays a good price for a positive injury. 




No. 3 — THIRD MOVEMENT IN SCALP MASSAGE — RIPPLE MOVEMENT 



(123) 




No. 4— MASSAGE TREATMENT FOR HEADACHE 



(124) 



1 







. ^ . ••'••. •:.\4 9 fflLBERT^^y 




CHAPTER XIII 



THE COMPLEXION 




Thy complexion shifts to strange eflects.— Measure for Measure. 

ixTY out of every one hundred American girls 
have poor skins. When I say poor skins I am 
trying to soften what seems to be a very harsh 
statement. 

What I really mean to say is, that out of 
one hundred youthful faces taken at random 
from any congregation of young people, at the 
most generous estimate, about forty per cent, will be free 
from the blemishes we all know and loathe, and are con- 
tent to abide by and with — pimples and other equally 
disgusting accompaniments of an ill-conditioned skin. 

And this state of affairs exists despite the fact that 
twenty millions of dollars are annually expended in the 
United States for cosmetics, facial treatments and alleged 
cures for an almost national defect. 

(125) 



126 HARRIET HUBBARD AYER 



American women are, as a rule, not stupid — yet they 
,are singularly gullible on this one point. 
/ Every thinking person must know that a bad skin is 
the result of an internal disorder or external neglect. 
External neglect may be summed up in one word — "un- 
cleanliness." Internal troubles, I grieve to say, may be 
too often fastened on the all-prevailing pie of our beloved 
land. 

When I say pie I generalize. I mean to include all 
those soft, pasty, creamy, delectable stomach-destroyers 
which the girls of to-day are offering to their stomachs 
week in and week out, in place of food that will nourish 
and produce red corpuscles instead of white. 

Frequently I go to a dairy kitchen near my office for 
a hurried luncheon, and I am always spellbound for the 
first few moments by the apparently irresistible, swift- 
recurring wave of pie-eating that pervades the entire 
establishment. 

Long ago our Puritan ancestors did some of us an evil 
turn by way of saleratus bread and soda biscuit. Too 
much saleratus will upset the best little stomach in the 
world, and when a good little stomach is insulted day by 
day, it retorts by throwing out through the blood, a lot 
of nasty little pimples, with a sort of " Now, there ! " 

And our grandmothers are somewhat to blame for the 
unhealthy pallor they bequeathed our mothers, which was 
caused by the bread of the ante-yeast period. 

Nowadays we can get good, wholesome bread, even the 
least of us — and girls, if you could but believe it, a six 
months' course of bread-and-milk luncheons would so im- 



THE COMPLEXION 127 

prove most of your skins, as to make you the wonder of 
all the neighborhood not in the secret. 

If you were on the second floor of a dwelling house, 
and a large spot appeared upon the ceiling, you would go 
to the third floor and find out what had caused the dis- 
coloration. 

If you found your little sister seated on the floor di- 
rectly over the spot peacefully and contentedly pouring 
molasses in a steady stream out of a pretty molasses jug, 
would you apply a kalsomine or a wash to the spot be- 
low, or would you insist that nothing could remove the 
discolored spot till the small girl above gave over pour- 
ing molasses on the floor? 

That is about the way it is. 

Pie, Boston cream puffs, chocolate eclaires, and all the 
rest of them. Oh! if you but knew the havoc they make 
with your pretty little noses, your saucy chins, and inno- 
cent brows. It is just the case of a little girl pouring 
molasses on the floor above. 

FOSSATI CREAM FOR PIMPLES 

Lanolin 5 grammes. 

Sweet almond oil 5 grammes. 

Sulphur precipitate .... 5 grammes. 

Oxide of zinc 2^ grammes. 

Extract of violet 10 drops. 

Apply a very little of the cream to the pimples ; wait until the pim- 
ples are cured before using the face brush, which might irritate them. 

Many women are troubled each Spring with an out- 
break of pimples, and the skin of others turns a muddy, 
yellowish, and disagreeable hue. 

• A.— 7 



128 HARRIET HUBBARD AYER 

The causes for both conditions are practically the 
same. The subject has violated the rules of hygiene 
through her diet. Tea, coffee, cocoa, chocolate, sweets, 
pork, and buckwheat cakes are the things to leave off. A 
regimen consisting of fruits, green vegetables, celery, water 
cress, spinach, and the like, and just as much hot water as 
can be comfortably drank, is the cure. 

Sulphur soap is used frequently with good effect in 
some cases. There are several good sulphur soaps procur- 
able at any first-class drug store. 

A celebrated French woman, noted for her beauty, de- 
clares that she will cure any ordinary skin eruptions 
known under the general term of "pimples," by vegetable 
diet, saline purgatives, ointment of tar, and lanolin and 
sulphur baths. 

I indorse this regimen heartily, although I am obliged 
to say that very few American women, in my opinion, 
would follow it strictly and persistently long enough to 
experience its good effect. 





CHAPTER XIV 



THE COMPLEXION — Continued 



There's too great testimony in your complexion. — As You Like It. 




^HOSE of my readers who are blessed with skins 
''as clear as morning roses newly washed with 
dew" can but faintly imagine the wretched- 
ness of the girl or woman who, through no 
fault of her own, awakens every day of her 
life to the sickening realization that she is 
unsightly — often really repulsive, because of 
this disfiguring skin blemish called freckles. I suppose I 
have seen and treated as many bad cases of skin disease 
as any one other person in this country during the past 
fifteen years, and the result of my experience is that all 
skin troubles can be cured where there is no inherited 
taint, and that even in these unfortunate cases the com- 
plexion may be greatly improved. The least offensive of 
these pigmentary discolorations is lentigo, or freckles. 

(129) 



130 HARRIET HUBBARD AYER 

Certainly these brown, oval-shaped spots dotted about the 
face and hands are not pretty, but they do not look un- 
clean as blackheads do, nor do they reflect disease as 
scrofulous pimples must, but they are disagreeable and 
unpleasant. 

Freckles are divided into two classes — summer freck- 
les, which usually fall to the lot of fair-skinned light or 
auburn-haired girls, and are produced almost instantly 
on exposure to strong light, disappearing in a little while 
if the subject remains indoors or in the shade. I make 
this statement despite the testimony of the eminent Pro- 
fessor of Dermatology, Doctor Hebra, of Vienna, who posi- 
tively declares that neither strong sunlight or sharp winds 
nor the two combined will produce freckles. Vienna 
freckles may be able to resist a Vienna sun, but Yan- 
kee freckles, such as I have had principally to encounter, 
are beyond dispute brought to the surface of the skin by 
intense sunlight and frequently by strong biting winds. 
The other form of freckles is called cold or winter 
freckles. These never disappear, except through external 
agencies, and then only with the cuticle itself. 'For 
"every-day" or summer freckles, a good treatment is as 
follows: — 

Bathe frequently with pure soap and water, use the 
scrubbing brush as advised in Chapter V, and rub the 
skin to an extent a little short of irritation. The advan- 
tage of friction is not only that it assists in cleansing the 
skin, but excites the cutaneous circulation. I have seen 
many and many a freckled face scrubbed and rubbed clear 
without other aids, but there are a number of simple 



THE COMPLEXION 131 

remedies which will hasten the cure. The most effective 
of these to be employed in connection with the scrubbing 
and dry friction are a cream or pomade to be used at 
night just before retiring and a wash to be applied dur- 
ing the day. The cream is made thus : — 

FRECKLE CREAM 

Elder flower ointment . . 1 ounce. 
Sulphate of zinc .... 20 grains. 

This pomade is easily absorbed by the skin and is ex- 
cellent not only for the treatment of freckles, but also for 
any of the lighter skin eruptions which frequently annoy 
girls between the ages of fourteen and eighteen. In the 
morning wash the ointment carefully out of the skin and 
apply the following lotion. Repeat the application of the 
lotion several times during the day. 

FORMULA FOR LOTION 

Infusion of roses .... 8 fluid ounces. 
Citric acid . . . . . .30 grains. 

Mix ; pour into a bottle, and keep closely stoppered. Should any 
unpleasant irritation follow apply a healing lotion — formula on page 135. 

Another highly commended freckle lotion is called 

FRECKLE BALM 

and is made as follows: — 

Pure strained honey .... 8 ounces. 

Glycerine 2 ounces. 

Alcohol 2 ounces. 

Citric acid 6 drachms. 

Essence of ambergris ... 15 drops. 

There is but one way to take away obstinate or cold 
freckles, and that is to remove the discolored skin. The 



132 HARRIET HUBBARD AYER 

following remedy for removing freckles was published in 
the Medical Record some time ago. I have tried it in- 
numerable times with entire success in every case. The 
advantage of this preparation is in the fact that it con- 
tains no corrosive sublimate which is the chief ingredient 
in all the much-exploited freckle removers, bleaches, etc., 
on the market. 

FORMULA FOR REMOVING OBSTINATE FRECKLES 

Lactic acid 4 ounces. 

Glycerine 2 ounces. 

Rose water 1 ounce. 

This is really a "bleach" in its effect, but it is entirely 
harmless. You must not be surprised if it burns and causes 
a temporary redness of the skin. It must do this to be 
effective, for it is to remove the discolored skin. You can 
allay the burning by applying any of the creams for which 
formulas are given elsewhere, or prepare the following 
which is especially soothing. 

OINTMENT TO BE USED AFTER LOTION FOR REMOVING 

FRECKLES 

Oil of almonds 4 ounces. 

White vaseline 3 ounces. 

Spermaceti 1 ounce. 

Melt, then add 

Expressed juice of houseleeks . . 3 fluid ounces. 
Tincture of benzoin 15 drops. 

Stir until the mixture solidifies in cooling. Any desired perfume 
may be added. 

Marchand's hydrozone and glycozone treatment will re- 
move freckles and pigmentary stains in general. 



THE COMPLEXION 133 

Get the pure article — one bottle each of hydrozone and 
glycozone. The treatment is as follows: — 

First. — Wash the surface well. 

Second. — Hj means of a soft, camel's-hair brush (free from metal- 
lic parts) apply to the skin, hydrozone full strength (or diluted with 
water half and half). Let it dry. It causes a slight itching sensa- 
tion which will soon pass away. 

Third.— Rub the surface over gently with glycozone. 

This treatment must be repeated morning and evening until the 
natural color of the skin is reached. 

From that time repeat the above, at least once or twice every 
week, otherwise the trouble will surely return. 



Wind and Sunburn 

Spring winds and sun are disastrous to delicate skins, 
and the results of exposure at this trying season of the 
year frequently cling to fair faces throughout the entire 
summer. 

To prevent the discoloration and roughness induced by 
the fiercely drying cold spring wind, it is well to wear a 
veil until the weather is more settled and the air grows 
balmy. A veil of chiffon is much more of a protection 
than one would perhaps think, and has the advantage of 
being very becoming, while it serves to cut the sharpness L^ 
of the air. A chapped face produced by spring winds, so 
extremely uncomfortable when accompanied by a drawn 
sensation, as though the skin were too tightly stretched, 
will yield to the soothing effects of a very delightful and 
softening unguent called "Venus Cream,'' for which I give 
the formula; — 



/ 



134 HARRIET HUBBARD AYER 

VENUS CREAM 

Spermaceti (pure) ^ ounce. 

White wax (pure) ..... ^ ounce. 

Almond oil 1 pound. 

Butter of cocoa ^ pound. 

Lanolin 2 ounces. 

Melt and stir in one drachm of balsam of Peru. After 
settling, pour off the clear portion and add two fluid 
drachms of orange flower water, and stir briskly until it 
concretes. 

After exposure to the sun and wind, wipe the face off 
carefully with Venus Cream, using a bit of old linen or 
flannel for the operation, which may be repeated, if neces- 
sary, two or three times daily. 

An hour or so after the application of the Yenus 
Cream, it is well to bathe the face in tepid water. Use a 
very little soap, if necessary. Where the skin is inclined 
to become dry and scaly from exposure, the following may 
be used with excellent results : — 

Iodide of potassium ... 1 to 2 drachms. 
Distilled water 1 pint. 

Dissolve. Add one ounce pure glycerine. 

Frequently the windburn or sunburn will darken the 
face and throat in patches. 

Calisthenic exercises persisted in daily until a free and 
natural perspiration is produced, followed by warm ablu- 
tions, and the application of this healing lotion, are of in- 
estimable advantage in such cases, and all the treatment 
usually required to keep the skin clear and smooth. 



THE COMPLEXION 135 



FORMULA FOR HEALING LOTION 

Boracio acid 1 drachm. 

Distilled witch hazel .... 2 ounces. 
Rose water 2 ounces. 



FOR WIND AND SUNBURN 

For many skins the following lotion is almost a speci- 
fic for wind and sunburn : — 

The strained juice of ripe cucumbers . ^ cup. 

Elder flower water , . ^ cup. 

Rose water 1 cup. 

Pure alcohol 1 drachm. 

Boracio acid, in powder ...... ^ teaspoon. 

Tincture of benzoin 30 drops. 

Apply with a velvet sponge or soft cloth whenever required. 



FOR TAN AND SUNBURN 

An excellent preparation to remove tan and sunburn 
may be made as follows : — 

Borax 10 grains. 

Lime water 2 ounces. 

Oil of sweet almonds .... 2 ounces. 

If the face become sore and show a tendency to peel off aftei 
using the above lotion, apply every morning after washing the fol- 
lowing : — 

Chloride of ammonia .... 2 drachms. 



Spirits of wine 

Attar of roses (can be omitted) 

Rose water 

Venetian talc (fine powder) 



2 ounces. 

10 drops. 

1 pint. 

1 ounce. 



136 HARRIET HUBBARD AYER 



MOTH PATCHES 

For moth patches and liver spots, the following will be 
found very beneficial : — 

Kaolin 4 grammes. 

Lanolin 10 grammes. 

Glycerine 4 grammes. 

Carbonate of magnesia ... 2 grammes. 

Oxide of zinc 2 grammes. 

This should be applied to the spots at night before retiring and 
should remain on until the next morning. Remove by the aid of 
tepid water and a little pure hygienic soap. Repeat the application 
as often as necessary. 

FORMULA FOR FACE BLEACH KNOWN TO COMMERCE 

Bichloride of mercury in coarse powder . . 10 grains. 
Distilled water 1 pint. 

Agitate the two together until a complete solution is obtained. 
Then add one -half ounce of glycerine. Apply with a small sponge 
as often as agreeable. This is not strong enough to blister and skin 
the face in average cases. It may be increased or reduced in strength 
by adding to or taking from the amount of bichloride of mercury. 

Do not forget that bichloride of mercury is a powerful 
poison and should be kept out of the reach of children 
and ignorant persons. 

FOR YELLOW SPOTS ON THE SKIN 

Oleate of copper 15 grains. 

Ointment of oxide of zinc . . ^ ounce. 

Hub into the spots morning and night, 




CHAPTER XV 




THE COMPLEXION — Continued 

Out damned spot! out, I say! — Macbeth. 

LACKHEADS are a form of acne indicated by lit- 
tle black specks on the skin, chiefly about the 
nose, forehead, and chin. Each speck marks 
an obstructed outlet of the sebaceous glands, 
and if pressure is made on either side, some- 
thing having the appearance of a small white 
worm may be pressed out. Upon careful ex- 
amination this so-called worm proves to be a mass of 
hardened sebaceous matter, which has assumed this shape 
by being pressed through the small outlet of the follicle. 
The black speck, giving to this little cylinder of fat the 
appearance of a head, is, shocking as it is, simply an 
accumulation of dirt. The technical term for one of 
these little masses is comedo. When examined under a 
microscope, they are frequently found to contain a whole 

(137) 



138 HARRIET HUBBARD AYER 

family of parasites — male, female, and their numerous 
progeny. 

Obviously there is but one way of getting rid of black- 
heads, and that is by forcing them out of the clogged pore. 
They cannot be drawn back whence they came, and in 
pressing them out before the skin is properly softened and 
prepared for their ejection, the patient must be very care- 
ful not to rupture the delicate tissue, causing either an ugly 
little scar or, more likely, an enlargement of the opening 
which immediately fills up again, each time increasing in 
size and becoming more malignant in appearance. 

Blackheads may not only be removed without leaving 
any scar, but once rid of them the patient need never 
again be troubled with them, if the advice here given be 
carefully followed. 

For two or three weeks, until the skin is thoroughly 
softened, apply one of the creams or skin foods, formulas 
for which may be found in these pages. Make this appli- 
cation at night, after washing the face well with a pure 
hygienic soap and hot water. Be sure to rinse the soap 
well out of the face and dry the skin thoroughly before 
applying the cream or skin food. 

At the end of two or three weeks of this treatment, 
the blackhead may be forced out by pressure of the two 
thumbs. If a moderate pressure will not eject it, make no 
more heroic attempt, but try the green-soap treatment, 
which rarely, if ever, fails. 

Green soap may be purchased at any drug store, and, 
by the by, is not green. It is about the consistency of a 
custard. 



I THE COMPLEXION 139 

Before using the green soap, bathe the face in warm 
water as hot as can be pleasantly borne. Then wring out 
cloths in hot water and lay over the face, renewing them 
frequently. Continue this operation for fifteen or twenty 
minutes. Anoint the face with the green soap. Rub it 
well into the pores for five or six minutes. Rinse the 
soap from the face with hot water, using the cameFs-hair 
face-scrubbing brush so as to remove all the soap and as 
many of the blackheads as will come. Dry the face and 
anoint it with a skin food or cream. Continue this treat- 
ment every night until the blackheads have disappeared. 

TREAtMENT FOR OBSTINATE BLACKHEADS 

Occasionally very obdurate blackheads will require 
pressure, but usually the green soap will remove them 
without more heroic treatment. 

Where the blackheads appear on the back, and also 
upon the breasts, the same treatment is required. Soap 
and water and friction, combined with an emollient, mean 
death to blackheads. Apart also from the mere cleanli- 
ness derived from the friction of the brush, it has the most 
important effect of so stimulating the circulation that the 
obstructed glands are opened, their stagnating contents 
broken up, dissolved, and carried off. 

NEW REMEDY FOR BLACKHEADS 

Doctor Hebra, of Vienna, a world-renowned dermatolo- 
gist, advises the following for curing blackheads: — 

Bathe the face at night with the following lotion : Rose water, 
pure alcohol and glycerine, 10 grains each ; pulverized borax, 5 grains. 



140 HARRIET HUBBARD AYER 

After five minutes, apply this mixture : Pure alcohol, 80 grains ; 
green soap, 40 grains. Wash off in the morning. 

Acne appears under various forms and names. In con- 
fluent acne, the pimples appear in groups, suppurating and 
running together. A course of sulphur baths is recom- 
mended. Friction and frequent bathing are advised, and 
as soon as possible the camel's-hair face brush. 

In acne indurata, the pimples appear to be under the 
skin. The same treatment should be followed. 

The use of a camel's-hair face-scrubbing brush cannot 
be too strongly recommended. 

It removes from the face the dust and foreign matter 
that has collected there during the day, and it penetrates 
and dislodges from the pores of the skin any secretions 
that may have become clogged there. 

I do not believe any one can keep the face clean, ex- 
cept by the aid of a brush. 

A pure soap will not hurt the most delicate skin. On 
the contrary, it is a necessary detergent, and the women 
who have the most beautiful complexions in the world — 
notably English women — are those who have scrubbed 
their faces with soap and water from childhood. 

Its use should not be restricted to women. As a mat- 
ter of fact, the male epidermis differs in no respect from 
the female, except possibly that it is tougher. Both are 
equally benefited by the use of the face-scrubbing brush. 
Your stalwart six-footer may not long for the pink and 
white cheeks of the dainty sixteen year-old girl, yet he 
will surely appreciate the exquisite feeling of cleanliness 
and freshness which follows the scrubbing process. I have 



THE COMPLEXION 141 

also been informed that the use of the brush is an excel- 
lent means of softening the beard before shaving. 

Acne molluscum usually appears on the forehead and 
about the nose. It has the aspect of tiny seed pearls im- 
bedded in the skin, and is due to the obstruction of the 
sebaceous glands, which, unable to rid themselves of their 
contents, become distended, and hardened. 

TREATMENT FOR ACNE MOLLUSCUM 

Open each seed acne with the point of a fine cambric needlec 
The hardened mass must be pressed or pricked out. The empty sack 
of the gland should then be bathed with a little toilet vinegar and water, 
or with a very weak solution of carbolic acid and water. 





CHAPTER XVI 



THE COMPLEXION — Continued 



Men judge by the complexion, — Richard II. 




iMPLES and eczema are the most repulsive of skin 
ailments. An eruption of any kind on the face 
is fatal to beauty. 

Beauty usually first inspires love, but it is 
certain that cleanliness is a great factor in its 
preservation, and also, I am bound to say once 
more, no woman suffering from any one of the 
common forms of skin disease ever looks really clean. 

For years it has been my habit to take a mental note 
of the skin diseases and blemishes of women and girls, and 
I have found that about only thirty in a hundred have 
really healthy, firm-looking skins, frequently with freckles, 
which are not unclean looking. The other seventy are 
pimply and unsightly from eczema, acne, or blackheads, or 
both. 

(142) 



THE COMPLEXION 143 

At the risk of being tiresome and regarded by my 
readers as a persistent crank, I am bound to say that I do 
honestly believe uncleanliness is the chief cause of the 
unsightly faces in every assemblage, on the streets and at 
home, in town and country. Perhaps I should qualify 
this statement by saying that a mistaken idea of cleanli- 
ness prevails, and that a mere bath every day is not suffi- 
cient to entitle one to be called absolutely clean. 

The skin is constantly undergoing the process of repro- 
duction and decay, — constantly secreting and endeavoring 
to throw off the decayed and useless matter. The skin of 
the face throws off its dead and useless scurf in tiny, dust- 
like particles. If these little specks of dead cuticle are 
removed daily by friction and a detergent, the channels 
are kept open and disease cannot, unless inherited or con- 
tagious, attack the face. Unfortunately, our American 
climate, with its sudden changes, too frequently checks 
the flow of perspiration which, unrestrained, would of it- 
self carry off the dead matter. The consequence of the 
arrested effort to free the pores is congestion, and the re- 
sult is a skin obstructed and positively loaded with adher- 
ing refuse matter, which is not only filthy, but actually 
poisonous in its effects when forced back into the blood. 

I wish that I could personally see every woman who 
reads this book, and tell her by word of mouth of 
the quantities of filth which will accumulate in the pores 
of the skin of the face in a month's time ; of the hideous 
cases of skin diseases which have been the despair of 
women and girls, and which have, in the course of a few 
months of proper cleansing and friction, yielded and given 

A— 8 




144 HARRIET HUBBARD AYER 

way to beautiful, satiny complexions, free from every 
blemish. 

I have not much confidence in my own powers of elo- 
quence, but it seems to me I could not fail, in relating 
the actual histories taken from my ow^n daily observation, 
to impress my convictions, which are really the result of 
years of experience, that uncleanliness and a misunder- 
standing of what that word means, are the chief causes 
of our disfigured skins. Physical cleanliness must be so 
active that all corporeal impurities are thrown off through 
its agencies, cutaneous eruptions removed, and the entire 
surface of the body made as pure and smooth and bright 
as in infancy. No simple washing or bathing will do 
this, though such ablutions be performed six times a day. 
There is no purification of the skin and no cure for dis- 
eases resulting from obstructed pores, in my opinion, ex- 
cept through water and soap and friction. 

I cite an actual instance which lately came under my 
observation. 

A young Swedish girl, a housemaid in a hotel where I 
was living, was a repulsive object from a skin disease 
which appeared at first glance to be erysipelas. Her face 
was covered with groups of white-headed pimples in vari- 
ous stages of suppuration ; her cheeks, nose, and chin were 
the color of a bright red cranberry; and the entire skin 
appeared stretched and shiny, as it will on a boil when 
gathering. The girl was an excellent servant, but several 
of the guests complained to the housekeeper that she was 
positively offensive to them, and she was about to be dis- 
charged when I spoke gently to her of her complexion, 



THE COMPLEXION 145 

and she told me, with a burst of tears, how she had suf- 
fered for years from the hideous disease. She said she 
had tried many advertised remedies, but had given up in 
despair as they had made her face worse than ever. I 
prescribed a course of treatment for her, which included 
washing her face daily several times with soda and water 
and a very pure, healing soap. In a month she was able 
to use a camel's-hair face brush with soap. The treat- 
ment was practically the one I have already recom- 
mended, consisting of a healing cream used at night, and 
a cooling lotion during the day, and now eight months 
from the time I first undertook the cure of ''Helma B," 
her face is as smooth and fair as a child's — every pimple 
and spot has disappeared, and she herself in referring to 
it says: "For sure, now when I look in the glass I all 
the time smile, and for sure one year ago when I look in 
the glass I all the time cry.'' 

Helma's case was an unusually bad and disgusting one, 
but it was simply a neglected case of acne. A great many 
people do not discriminate between acne and eczema. 

Eczema, in its simplest form, is a disease characterized 
by the eruption of a great number of small blister-headed- 
looking little pimples clustered together in patches, usually 
confined to one part of the body at a time. The pimples 
are accompanied by intense itching, and the result of 
scratching is to tear the thin, inflamed cuticle and to so ir- 
ritate it that it suppurates and dries, leaving, after the crust 
has fallen, a little red mark upon the skin which is either 
dry, or, in some cases, wet, with a thin, milky-looking 
discharge which exudes from a tiny opening in the center 



146 HARRIET HUBBARD AYER 

of the pimple. This discharge often ceases in a few days, 
but is frequently followed by a fresh crop of pimples and 
again by another, so that the disease frequently runs on 
for months, — one patch healing as another reappears. 
Chronic or acute eczema is simple eczema in its most 
aggravated form, and if not checked results in hideous 
running sores and abscesses and excessive suffering. The 
causes of eczema are frequently very obscure. It is often 
inherited, and w^hen this is the case, it is seldom possible 
to do more than palliate it or hold it in check. It fre- 
quently attacks the face, but usually first appears on the 
hands, the itching being so severe at times as to throw 
the patient almost into convulsions. Children suffer fre- 
quently from eczema of the face, and the subjects to this 
malady of all ages are apt to be attacked with it in the 
eyelids or the ears. 

I knew a very beautiful and high-bred woman, now 
peacefully resting in the tomb of her Knickerbocker an- 
cestors, who was obliged to dress her hair so that her ears 
were covered, because they were absolutely offensive from 
inherited eczema. I have often thought of her since I 
have learned to know that all forms of skin diseases, if 
not actually curable, may be greatly ameliorated, and of 
the agony she suffered in the knowledge that she was, to 
use her own words to me, " a living ulcer with a long line 
of intermarried dead ulcers back of her." 

Hideous, indeed, is the legacy of scrofula and inex- 
orable the laws of transmission, but even inherited skin 
diseases may be greatly palliated and the external signs 
kept in subjection. 



THE COMPLEXION 147 

Eczema sometimes appears in girls between the ages 
of fourteen and sixteen, — and is most annoying to sensi- 
tive cliildren. It can, unless inherited, always be con- 
trolled by attention to the general principles of health 
— cleanliness, exercise, proper diet, clothing, and ventila- 
tion. Eczema patients, old and young, should never use 
stimulants in any form ; they should take daily bafchs and 
be most particular as to the regularity of all the import- 
ant bodily functions. Occasionally doses of mild saline 
aperients such as cream of tartar, sulphate of soda, or 
the old-fashioned remedy of lac sulphur and cream of 
tartar mixed in equal quantities with enough molasses 
to form a creamy paste and taken three times a day 
for three days running, then omitted for three, then 
resumed for three, will be found of wonderful benefit. 
Let the patient drink freely of lemonade and avoid 
salt meats, pork in any form, and live upon a diet of 
fruits, red meats, and antiscorbutic vegetables. Many 
people are particularly susceptible to shellfish, and I 
have seen a case of eczema follow in several instances 
the eating of lobster. Strawberries will frequently pro- 
duce this effect. Of course when there is an idiosyn- 
crasy of this kind, the cause should be avoided. Vigorous 
exercise will often, by inducing excessive perspiration, 
act as a curative for eczema, particularly when com- 
bined with the application of a harmless external appli- 
cation. 

Take great care in selecting the cream or emollient. I 
have seen most disastrous results from the reckless use 
of much-vaunted articles. 



148 HARRIET HUBBARD AYER 

The following lotion is highly recommended by Doctor 
Cazenave : — 

Orange -flower water . . . 300 grammes. 
Nitric acid ...... 20 drops. 

Hydrochloric acid .... 20 drops. 

Doctor Monin recommends this lotion for eczema of 
the face, and suggests about the same diet I have advised, 
with the aid of sulphur or soda baths. Just as soon as it 
is possible to bear the camel's-hair brush on the face, it 
should be used. 

POMADE FOR ECZEMA 

Salicylic acid 1 gramme. 

Oxide of zinc (powdered) 



Powdered starch ' 

Lanolin . 30 grammes. 

Vaseline 10 grammes. 

Bichloride of mercury, which is corrosive sublimate, is an active 
poison, quite proper to be used as here given and in the quantity 
ordered. 



LOTION FOR ECZEMA, PIMPLES AND ERUPTIONS OF THE 
SKIN GENERALLY— (Cooley) 

Corrosive sublimate (in coarse powder) . 10 grains. 
Distilled water 1 pint. 

Agitate them together until solution be complete. The addition 
of five or six grains of hydrochlorate ammonia (pure sal ammoniac) or 
five or six drops (not more) of hydrochloric acid, increases the solvent 
action of the water, and renders the preparation less liable to suffer 
change, but is not otherwise advantageous. When absolutely pure 
distilled water is not used, this addition of acid should be made to 
prevent decomposition. To facilitate the process, some persons dissolve 
the sublimate in two or three fluid drachms of rectified spirit before 
adding the water ; but this, though convenient, is also unnecessary. 



THE COMPLEXION 149 

FOR A BAD SKIN 

Zinc ointment, 2 ounces ; alcohol, 1^ drachms ; resorcin, 1 scruple. 
Rub this into the skin every night. If the face is very much irritated, 
use this lotion during the day : Oxide of zinc, 2 drachms ; glycerine, 
4 drachms ; rose water, 2 ounces. Apply once or twice, or even three 
times daily, if required. It is very soothing. 

BROCO FORMULA FOR ECZEMA 

This preparation I have used with the greatest success 
in severe cases of facial eczema: — 

Salicylic acid, from 50 centigrammes to 2 grammes, according to 
the severity of the case. 

Oxide of zinc and pulverized cornstarch, 34 grammes each. 

Lanolin 40 grammes. 

Vaseline 10 grammes. 

Mix with care in the mortar, until a smooth paste is formed. Ap- 
ply at night and wash off in the morning. 

LOTION FOR ECZEMA OF THE EYELIDS 

Red laurel water 20 grammes. 

Glycerine 5 grammes. 

Acetic acid in crystals. . . 20 centigrammes. 

Apply to the eyelids daily ; make the application with a small 
camel's-hair brush. 

FOR CHRONIC ECZEMA 

Doctor Schmitz, a German skin specialist, tells of very 
successful use of the follov^ing mixture for chronic 
eczema : — 

Pure glycerine 120 grammes. 

Resorcin 15 grammes. 

Apply night and morning by the aid of a featheri 



150 HARRIET HUBBARD AYER 

CAMPHORATED SOAP FOR ECZEMA 

Where the subject is very nervous, and is afflicted also 
with rheumatism, bathing with the soap for which I give 
formula will often relieve the eczema, which sometimes 
accompanies this malady: — 

Paste of bitter almonds. ... 60 grammes. 

Saturated tincture of benzoin. . 40 grammes. 

Pulverized gum camphor. . . 8 grammes. 

White castile soap 500 grammes. 

Melt the soap and add the other ingredients. Beat thoroughly 
and pour into soap molds. 





CHAPTER XVII 



THE COMPLEXION — Continued 



Bid them wash their faces. — Coriolanus. 




HE general public will perhaps be astonished to 
learn that, according to many renowned der- 
matologists, it is the exceptional woman who 
knows, until she has been taught, how to wash 
her face, and that most of the ordinary skin 
ailments are the results of an ignorance of the 
skin structure of the face and of a most re- 
stricted idea as to what real physical purity of the skin 
means. 

Some years ago, I organized a class for the pur- 
pose of teaching a group of fashionable women how to 
wash their faces. Of course they were, as every member 
of the beau sexe is, intensely interested in such vital mat- 
ters as the beauty of their complexions, and how to prop- 
erly and hygienically care for their charming countenances. 

(151) 



152 HARRIET HUBBARD AYER 

I quote from an article which appeared in a New York 
paper after the first lesson had been given. 

"Standing beside a large dressing table supplied with 
ewer, basin, hot-water kettle, and upon one corner of which 
were heaped Turkish mittens, face scrubbing brushes, and 
a pyramid of delicately scented soaps, the leader of this 
new cult said : 'I take it for granted that no woman 
present is positively satisfied with the condition of her 
skin or she would not be here, and I ask every one's par- 
don when I say that as a nation, we do not have beauti- 
ful complexions mainly because we have never learned 
the scientific way of keeping the pores of the skin cover- 
ing our faces free, and that if we do not aid the channels 
with which Nature has supplied us to throw off the ac- 
cumulations of effete and useless matter, by friction and 
a detergent, they become choked, these thousands of won- 
derful ducts intended as respiratory or breathing organs 
of the marvelous skin structure, and as a result each lit- 
tle useful pore is clogged with the sebaceous matter which 
it should and would throw off, mingled with the oils and 
salts of perspiration. The functions of the skin are par- 
tially suspended and the result, as in all cases of conges- 
tion, is disease. 

"'I am going now,' said the instructor, 'to show you 
the way the average gentlewoman washes her face, just 
as I washed mine up to a few years ago; and I doubt not 
just as you washed yours this morning,' and with a smile, 
the bodice of the tailor-made gown, the linen chemisette, 
and cuffs were unfastened, and laid aside, and the professor 
pf face scrubbing stood revealed iij the dainty bat simple 



THE COMPLEXION 153 

lingerie of the fastidious and patrician woman who is 
femme de race, as the French say, to her finger tips. 

''A little burst of laughter and applause greeted the 
change of costume, and a shout of merriment proceeded 
from the class as the face washer poured about a quart of 
water into a bowl, added a few drops of perfume, and 
then, taking a bit of soft old linen about the size of a 
small handkerchief, wet it coquettishly in the liquid, and 
with lightest touch proceeded to dabble her face most 
gingerly, and immediately after to as carefully dry it as 
though it were a Dresden figure with lace ruffles. 

*' ' Now,' she said when she had finished, ' is this not a 
fair example of the way we wash our faces ? ' and the 
women laughed aloud and cried : ' Yes, indeed, that's 
taken from life.' ' You are quite right,' etc., for they 
saw those brushes and knew in a measure what was com- 
ing, and how utterly absurd the little rag looked as an 
argument for cleanliness, against the heap of searching 
bristles. 

" ' When,' said Mrs. Ayer, ' you can keep your hands, or 
your arms, or the bit of lace at your throats, clean,— 
sweetly, scrupulously clean, by a rag and a little tepid 
water, the same method will answer for your faces. Now 
I am going to show you how to really free the face from 
all superficial impurities, from the dust of this morning, 
the superfluous and frequently abnormal flow of oil from 
the glands, and the dead particles of the scurf skin which 
is always changing, always renewing itself, and can only 
be gotten quite rid of by friction. And also, I may add, 
by this very stimulant — the result of the friction — the 



154 HARRIET HUBBARD AYER 

clogged pores throw off the hardened secretions and the 
skin responds as the breathing cells of the leaves of a 
plant to the assistance we shall give it.' Mrs. Aver now 
poured from the ewer of hot water as much as a large 
washbowl would hold, and, pinning back her loose locks 
of hair from brow and neck, she took a face scrubbing 
brush, dipped it into the hot water, rubbed it vigorously 
with a cake of soap, and, bending over the bowl, she 
scrubbed her face and throat with amazing vigor. 

*^'For goodness sake,' cried one young Knickerbocker 
matron, 'she'll take every bit of skin off.' 'I'd just as 
soon attack my classic features with a nutmeg grater,' 
said a second. ' No human woman can stand such a 
barbaric process,' cried a lady of sixty ; but the teacher 
of face washing only smiled, emptied the basin, filled it 
with fresh hot water, and, dipping a soft Turkish mitten 
into it, proceeded to carefully wash again, saying as she 
did so, 'I am now rinsing the soap out, for it is just as 
harmful to clog the skin with soap as with any other 
foreign matter.' 

" Once more the water was emptied, this time the basin 
was filled with cooler water ; a fresh mitten, another rins- 
ing, then the drying process with a linen towel, and after- 
wards with a roguish look, the instructor said : — 

'' * If there be any one present who feels that I have not 
exhibited the courage of my convictions, she has the 
floor,' but only laughter greeted her remark. Then she 
rearranged her hair and dress, and, throwing wide the 
shutter so that the bright April sun flooded the room, 
she asked the pupils to come to the light and see how 



THE COMPLEXION 155 

free from irritation her skin was. The class in a body 
hastened to accept the invitation. They critically exam- 
ined the face of the leader of the new school of philoso- 
phy, and were satisfied. Seeing was believing, and the 
subscribers to the face-washing class meekly accepted a 
brush, cake of soap, and a Turkish mitten, and departed 
to return the following week to report their experiences, 
and to learn how to use the electric battery, and to ob- 
tain a few points in crow's-feet." 

Face Steaming 

Women accustomed to a daily scrub, which includes 
the face, rarely are benefited by the steaming process. 
The fad, like many another, is a passing one, but it is 
worthy of a word of caution. 

Face steaming is supposed to open the pores of the 
skin, and during the operation, we are assured, that all 
foreign matter, dust, and clogged secretions, are expelled. 

A spasmodic cleansing of the face which requires daily 
friction to remove all extraneous substances from it, is, 
first of all, illogical ; and I have found that face steaming 
frequently leaves the cuticle dry and parched even when 
the operation is performed under the most favorable cir- 
cumstances, which, of course, is in one's own home, where 
the patient may remain some hours at least before expo- 
sure to the outer atmosphere. 

An occasional face steaming in one's own dressing room 
will do no harm, but it is trifling with a very precious 
possession to subject the face to the heat of the steamer. 



156 



HARRIET HUBBARD AYER 



and, within an hour or so, to a chilling wind or a frosty, 
penetrating cold. 

The Austrian women are noted for their fine complex- 
ions. They use quantities of hot water on their faces, not 
only in bathing, but they dip cloths in hot water and ap- 
ply them. My experience leads me to believe the cloths 
more efficacious than the steamer; they have also the 
additional advantage of not being painful to the eyes as 
the steam is. 

To those women who persist in steaming, I suggest 
that no apparatus is required. A chafing dish or even a 
teakettle, with a funnel placed in the spout, will do. The 
water must boil and the subject cover her head and focus 
the steam wherever she desires. 

The following lotion is very agreeable to use after 
face steaming, particularly if the skin seem tender and 
appear very red : — 

LOTION (Pol Vernon) 
Rose water ....*. 900 grammes. 



Tincture myrrh . 
Tincture opopanax 
Tincture benzoin 
Essence of citron 



10 grammes. 

10 grammes. 

10 grammes. 

4 grammes. 

Tincture of quillaia, sufficient quantity to make an emulsion. 






CHAPTER XVHI 
THE COMPLEXION — Continued 

Let it Stamp wrinkles in her brow of yonth.. — King Lear. 

ECHNicALLY, a Wrinkle is a looseness of the skin, 
caused by the failure or attenuation of the 
under structure. This definition, however, ap- 
plies only to such of the lines in the human 
face as are formed in extreme age by the de- 
generation of the muscle as well as by impair- 
ment of the fatty tissue. It is a mistake to 
suppose that all wrinkles indicate old or advanced age. It 
is a fallacy to suggest that wrinkles and lines are not in- 
dications of temperament and character. We are each 
one accountable for the lines and crow's-feet on our faces, 
for they are the most faithful and unerring record of our 
past. 

The muscular contractions of the brow or cheek cause 
the lines, and it is fortunate that there are among them 
those that indicate good and beautiful attributes. 

(157) 



158 HARRIET HUBBARD AYER 

When you see a man or a woman with a wrinkled 
face, you may be very sure that every line is a telltale. 
The lines that indicate a sense of humor are easily enough 
recognized, even in early youth. T\i^j are never unpleas- 
ant. They are not the lines of a silly simpering girl, who, 
unless she mends her ways and ceases to giggle, will de- 
velop into a woman who is accompanied through life by 
an idiotic grin. 

It is absolutely impossible for a woman of charity, be- 
nevolence, and humanity to look like an avaricious or 
spiteful woman. . When you see a woman with a spiteful 
face, you may be certain her countenance but reflects her 
character. 

The lines that indicate a love of gossip are very read- 
ily recognized. There is a certain droop to the mouth 
which a woman's face will always take on just after she 
has asked if you have heard the latest about Mrs. So and So. 

It does not need any explanation from me to describe 
the lines that tell the story of an irritable, fretful nature. 
They are always drooping, just as mirthful, happy lines 
are upward curves. 

The lines in the face that indicate revenge are also 
always drooping and malicious looking. In such cases, 
there is usually a line from the nose to the lower corner 
of the mouth, and several fine oblique lines upon the 
broad part of the nose. 

A cynical face is marked by an upward sneering line 
at the mouth corners, and usually by the network of small 
lines which indicate a general contempt for persons and 
things. 






^ ^ 




CO 

LJ 

_l 

z 
S 

Q 
Z 
< 

CO 

LiJ 



_y - 





ANATOMICAL CHART SHOWING FACIAL MUSCLES 



1. Frontalis muscle. 

2. Occipitalis muscle. 

3. Orbicularis Palpebrarum muscle. 

4. Orbital portion of the Orbicularis 

Palpebrarum. 

5. Compressor Naris muscle. 

6. Depressor Alae Nasi muscle. 

7. Orbicularis Oris muscle. 

(160) 



Levator Labii Superioris muscle. 
Levator Aniiuli Oris muscle. 
Zygomaticus Major. | 
Zygomaticus Minor. vMaUier muscles. 
Platysma Myoides. j 
Descending portion of Platysma 
Myoides. 



14. 
15. 
1(5. 
18. 
19. 
20. 
21. 



Depressor Labii Inferioris. 
Depressor Anguli Oris. 
Levator Menti. 
Temporal muscle. 
Masseter muscle. 
Sterno-mastoid muscle. 
Trapezius muscle. 



THE COMPLEXION 161 

The talker's wrinkles commence in and near the lower 
cheek, and run down under the chin from side to side. 

The straight up and down lines furrowed in the brow 
denote sternness and sharpness. 

Horizontal lines across the forehead are an indication 
of a conscientious struggle to do right. 

Diagonal lines, crisscrossed in the middle of the brow, 
mean small frets and worries. 

After sixty, one should expect wrinkles. Up to that 
time they may properly be considered premature. I do 
not hesitate, to say, however, that the treatment necessary 
for their obliteration is largely a moral one. For exam- 
ple, I do not believe it possible by any external agency to 
eradicate malicious wrinkles until after the subject has 
reformed her ways, nor do I think revengeful lines will 
yield to massage. 

In other words, it comes to this — that an ill-tempered 
woman cannot have the lines provoked by her lack of 
amiability taken away until she ceases to exercise the 
muscles that reflect her thoughts and have caused these 
lines. 

A good woman cannot possibly look like a bad one, 
and a bad one, over thirty-five years of age, in my opin- 
ion has never looked like a saint. 

The general treatment for wrinkles which have been 
induced by illness and care or anxiety, is great cleanli- 
ness, nutritious food, out-of-door exercise, and the internal 
cultivation of an equable temper and a happy spirit. 

Whatever tends to promote the general health and to 
increase the deposit of fat in the skin tissues of the face, 

A.-9 



162 HARRIET HUBBARD AYER 

tends to obliterate lines and wrinkles, and to restore the 
firmness and beauty of the skin. Attention to the diet is 
of the utmost importance, and massage is of great benefit. 

Properly administered, there is no agent so successful 
in obliterating lines and wrinkles, as massage. There have 
been a number ot mechanical appliances invented and 
manufactured to take the place of manual massage. I 
advise the manual treatment whenever it is possible to 
secure it. 

Electricity is a great skin stimulant and therefore an 
important adjunct to massage. 

Where the skin is dry and wrinkled as well, it requires 
a tissue builder. For this purpose the skin food is better 
than any other emollient I know of. The skin food should 
be applied during the massage. Formula as follows: — 



White wax 


. 1 ounce. 


Spermaceti 


. 1 ounce. 


Lanolin .... 


. 2 ounces. 


Sweet almond oil . 


. 4 ounces. 


Cocoanut oil 


. 2 ounces. 


Benzoin (tincture) 


. 3 drops. 


Orange flower water . 


. 2 ounces. 



Melt the first five ingredients together, take off the fire, and beat 
until nearly cold, adding, little by little, the benzoin, and lastly the 
orange flower water. 



A New Cure for Wrinkles 

A so-called new method for obliterating wrinkles and 
furrows, which as usual turns out to be a revival and 
modification of an old one, is termed the bandeaux system. 



THE COMPLEXION 163 

As the name implies, the treatment is performed by 
the aid of bandages. 

According to a famous French authority the marks of 
age noticeable in the shrinking of the fatty tissues under 
the chin and that are such a source of misery to each 
woman, as well as the creases in the brow and the droop 
of the mouth, may be indefinitely warded off if the sub- 
ject will each night wear during her sleeping hours a set 
of bands especially devised for obliterating the ravages of 
time from the forehead and throat. 

These bands resemble very much those that form the 
under part of the headdress of the Sisters of Mercy or 
Charity. 

In Paris, where the new system is flourishing, they may 
be bought readily, and I have seen several sets that have 
been imported to this country, although I do not think 
they are yet for sale in America. 

They are made of firm white linen and are about three 
and a half inches broad after they are folded several 
times and ready for adjusting. 

A set of beauty bands consists of three strips each for 
chin and brow. 

Before binding the face it must be thoroughly washed 
and anointed with an ointment called Pommade Grecque, 
which is made as follows : — 

POMMADE GRECQUE 

Lanolin 2 ounces. 

White vaseline 2 ounces. 

Good cold cream .... 1 ounce. Mix. 



164 HARRIET HUBBARD AYER 

It is important that the skin under the bands be 
smoothed out by the hand before applying the bandage. 
If the linen be stretched over a fold or wrinkle, it will 
naturally do great damage, as it will make the wrinkle 
more deeply seated and much more diflBcult to eradicate. 

In the morning the bandages are taken off and the neck 
and face are first washed with a pure soap and warm water. 

Then use this lotion, which is made as follows : — 

AURORA LOTION 

Rose water 125 grammes. 

Glycerine 50 grammes. 

Alcohol 50 grammes. 

Tincture of benzoin ... 50 grammes. 

Boric acid 25 grammes. 

Dissolve the boric acid first in the alcohol, add the glycerine, then 
the rose water, and last of all the tincture of benzoin. 

Warts and Moles 

These blemishes are sometimes merely pigmentary, 
sometimes both pigmentary and hairy. They may be 
elevated above the skin, or level with it. Usually they 
are congenital, and are then known as yicevi or birth- 
marks, but, in some circumstances, they develop in 
childhood or even later. The coloring matter which con- 
stitutes them is deposited in the deeper portion of the 
subcuticle, so that a scar usually results if they are re- 
moved either by the knife or by the actual cautery — hot 
iron. Ligature by means of a silk or silver thread tightly 
wound round the root of the excrescence is a method 
applicable to large pendent warts, which, thus treated, 



THE COMPLEXION 165 

shrivel and drop off, when the base can be cauterized 
with a nitrate of silver stick. Common v^arts without a 
pedicle, may be removed by repeated applications of 
strong acetic acid, nitric acid, caustic potash, lunar caustic 
in pencil, tincture of chloride of iron and hydrochloric 
acid. In applying any of these remedies, care must be 
taken not to touch with them the surrounding skin, else 
a stain or scar may result. It is best to isolate the wart 
or mole before putting on the caustic, by spreading a thin 
layer of soft wax or spermaceti over the adjacent surface. 
All the agents enumerated are liable, it must be borne in 
mind, to leave permanent marks behind them, and, in case 
of moles on the face, these marks may after all prove to 
be more disfiguring than the original blemish. 

Children and young people who suffer from abnor- 
mally moist hands sometimes have multiple warts of 
various sizes on the fingers or hands. In the treatment 
of these the internal administration of arsenic and other 
medicines is often advisable, combined with the local ap- 
plication of a paste made of precipitated sulphur, glacial 
acetic acid, and glycerine in equal parts. This paste 
must be freshly made at the time of using, and spread 
over the warts. But the best of all treatment of moles, 
warts, and other pigmentary or excrescent blemishes is 
electrolysis. The mode of operation is the same as that 
just described in the case of superfluous hairs, only that 
when applied to solid growths of skin more than one sit- 
ting is invariably necessary, and the duration of the gal- 
vanic action should be continued as long at a time as it 
is found bearable. 



166 HARRIET HUBBARD AYER 

BIRTHMARKS 

"Port wine" marks, which usually are amenable to 
no other treatment, may be removed in a similar manner, 
so also may ncevi of other kinds, liver stains, obstinate 
freckles, and even local skin disease, when independent of 
general ill health. Affections of the cuticle characterized 
by thickening or infiltration are those which best lend 
themselves to the influence of the galvanic current. The 
powerful modification thus produced on the circulation, 
absorption, and nutrition of the tissue may even, Dr. de 
Watteville thinks ("Practical Introduction to Medical 
Electricity"), be brought to bear successfully on such 
forms of dermal affection as acne, eczema, neurotic bald- 
ness, chilblains, and herpes. 

Electrolysis is especially valuable as a cure for cutane- 
ous vascular formations, whether congenital or acquired. 
This kind of skin complaint is not uncommon, often ap- 
pearing in mature life and in connection with acne or 
some other generalized affection of the kind. It consists 
of patches of dilated blood vessels situated in the subcu- 
taneous tissues, irregular in shape, and varying in color 
from dark purple to bright pink. These patches may ap- 
pear singly or in numbers on any part of the face or per- 
son, but they are most commonly seen on the nose or 
cheek. Their aspect is that of a fine network of dis- 
tended veins, tortuous and serpentine in appearance, and 
more or less distinctly outlined. The affected part often 
burns and assumes a shiny look. Vascular marks of this 
character, whether recent or congenital, can be entirely 



THE COMPLEXION 173 

tics, and perhaps electricity to strengthen the weakened 
muscles. There have, indeed, been cures of seemingly 
hopeless paralysis, by massage, continuously, systematically, 
and scientifically given. 

If a shrunken arm may be restored to symmetry and 
perfect contour, why not a shrunken cheek? Obviously one 
result is as logical as the other. The great difficulty is 
that in treating an arm or leg we follow our physician's 
advice and secure a scientific masseur; but for some inex- 
plicable reason, we trust our faces, whose delicate anatomy 
and muscular structure we know next to nothing about 
ourselves, to the first woman whose sign " facial treat- 
ment " or " facial massage " meets our eyes on the street, 
and who is just one degree more ignorant than we our- 
selves. 

No woman is competent to give beneficial massage to 
the face unless she has studied its anatomy, knows every 
nerve and muscle in its construction, and has practiced 
the giving of facial gymnastics for at least a twelvemonth 
under one of the professors of the Swedish school. 

I suppose I am acquainted with nearly every so-called 
method of giving so-called massage in this country. It is 
utter nonsense to talk of different methods. There is 
only one real way of properly administering true facial 
gymnastics, and that is after the school founded by the 
great Ling, the originator of the system. Where a woman 
can afford to employ a skillful masseuse of course she 
should do so. First-class Swedish graduates receive nat- 
urally good pay for their services, and but recently have 
been unwilling to give facial treatments alone, but there 



174 HARRIET HUBBARD AYER 

are two or three experts in this line who now give the 
facial treatment at prices not high when the quality of 
the service rendered is considered. 

Frequently, however, to a woman who needs facial 
massage, even one dollar is far beyond her means, and in 
such cases the subject may do the work herself on her 
own face — and it is work and not play, let it be under- 
stood, and fatiguing work, too, when properly done. 

The word massage is derived from the Greek masso, to 
knead. It does not, as many alleged operators appear to 
consider, mean to pinch, or punch, or bruise, or beat the 
tender flesh and nerves until the victim is as sore as a 
pugilist after a prize fight. 

Before a woman gives herself massage, she should 
study the plate given in this book, showing the muscular 
construction of the face and throat, and she should recol- 
lect that the muscles must be developed by the exercise 
— which is given them in the various motions. All the 
important facial and throat muscles are manipulated, the 
operator anointing her fingers with a tissue or skin- 
feeding unguent, or skin food, which has usually a basis 
of lanolin, because of its penetrating qualities, and is 
gently rubbed into the skin. It is quite wonderful to see 
how gratefully the skin accepts nourishment in this way. 
I am never tired of watching and marveling at the sen- 
sibility, the responsiveness, and the power of its resist- 
ance. 

The skin combines within itself the powers of an 
organ of excretion, secretion, respiration, and nutrition. 
After it has absorbed the skin food it requires, it will 




MASSAGE FOR DEVELOPING MAHLER OR CHEEK MUSCLES 



(176) 



THE COMPLEXION 177 

accept no more for the time being, and the operator may 
commence the smoothing oat process. All lines should 
be smoothed out — that is, they should be treated with 
the thumb and forefinger in an opposite direction to their 
formation. My own masseuse says: — ^ 

''In giving massage, the patient's face is first bathed 
in warm water and carefully dried with a soft towel. I 
use a little cream or skin food to anoint my fingers dur- 
ing the treatment." 

The first picture shows the movement for obliterating 
horizontal lines and furrows in the brow. 

This is the rotary motion, as shown in the diagram. 
It is reversed in the work on the brow, but always back- 
ward on the temples. 

It has been well said that a woman cannot afford to 
shed many tears after she is five and twenty, or if she 
does it will be at the expense of the beauty of her eyes, 
as the lachrymal glands are relaxed by weeping and the 
orbicular tissues (the orbicularis is the circular muscle of 
the eyelid) become emaciated, causing the disfigurement 
known as drooping eyelids, and nothing but the most skill- 
ful manipulation can restore the contour of those delicate 
tissues. 

This movement is shown in the illustration and dia- 
gram No. 2 "to remove a droop in the eyelid." The 
movement is made with the third finger only of either 
hand, and is vibratory. 

Illustration No. 3 shows the movement for removing 
laughing wrinkles. Laughing wrinkles are not disagree- 
able, but they certainly make a woman look older. 



178 HARRIET HUBBARD AYER 

The temporal muscle is the one to be operated upon. 
The muscle is fan shaped. Its fibers arise from the apo- 
neurosis of the forehead. The operator must exercise 
great skill and care to locate this muscle, giving it the 
proper rptary movement, thus forcing the blood to the 
surface, w^hich will nutrify and rebuild the fatty tissues 
and restore the temple and nasal contour. 

No. 4 shoves the proper movement for developing the 
predominating muscle of the face. The principal muscle 
of the cheek, called the trumpeter's muscle, is a flat mus- 
cle v^hich forms the wall of the cheek. It derives its 
name from its being much used in blowing the trumpet. 
But several other muscles enter into its formation, and 
these become relaxed from a disorganized system, sluggish 
blood, and many other causes. The glands shrink, the 
fatty tissues emaciate, and then we have sunken cheeks. 

The operator must know how to locate these muscles, 
beginning at the origin of the trumpeter's muscle and 
manipulating upward to the predominating muscle above 
the ear, finishing the work on this muscle with the rotary 
movement which wall force the circulation through the re- 
laxed muscles, invigorate and rebuild the tissues. This 
movement, in connection with the manipulation of the 
mahler or cheek muscles, will completely obliterate the 
lines of care, but in giving these movements, special at- 
tention must be paid to the chin, as the contour of this 
most important feature can be diminished or abnormally 
enlarged by improper manipulation. 

Illustration No. 5 shows the manipulation of the cheek 
muscles. This is a sort of clawing movement. The mus- 




(179) 




(180) 



THE COMPLEXION 181 

cles must be accurately located and the motion light and 
quick. Generally speaking, all facial massage movements 
are outward and upward. 

Hollow cheeks fill out in an amazing way when this 
manipulation is properly and persistently given. 

Most women begin to show age by a relaxed condition 
of the muscles of the neck and throat, and no woman, I 
am sure, has ever seen this first sign of advancing years 
without a sinking of the heart. I do not hesitate to say 
that by care the contour of the neck and throat can be 
positively restored to the firmness and beauty of youth, in 
all cases where there is not some wasting disease and 
where the subject is not over sixty years of age. 

Where the muscles are much relaxed, they are actually 
sensitive to the touch, and they suffer punishment at the 
first treatment if they are properly manipulated. 

The masseuse employed by me says: "My patients fre- 
quently declare at the first treatment: 'I can never stand 
it,^ but before I have given them the third they will tell 
me, * You have coaxed my throat into an insatiate demand 
for the exercise you give it, just as my lungs demand 
fresh air.'" 





CHAPTER XX 



THE COMPLEXION— Continued 



II faut souflrir pour etre belle. 

— French Proverb. 




AM not going to tell you of anything new in the 
"how-to-be-beautiful" line, but I am going to de- 
scribe a process which, like everything else, appar- 
ently originated with the Greeks thousands of years 
before this continent was dreamed of. 

"The dear Greeks and Romans," as Miss Blim- 
ber used to say, with so much emotion, how much 
we owe them — especially how much am I indebted to 
these clever ones of antiquity. Every time I hear of some- 
thing new, some very latest invention in the way of cos- 
metic art, I feel certain that I shall find myself presently 
mentally kotowing to a Greek contemporary of Hippoc- 
rates. For that was about the time the cosmetic art and 
the " how-to-be-beautiful " business flourished as it has 
never done since. They used to deceive me, these moderns 

(182) 




(183) 




(184) 



THE COMPLEXION - l85 

with their discoveries, but they do so no longer. For some 
years of study — years of exploration and recognition of 
the depths of my own ignorance — have made a Foxy 
Quiller of me on this one subject. 

Face Skinning 

Now, face skinning, as it is practiced at this date, is a 
process to take or leave alone, as you choose. Personally, 
I leave it alone. But there are those who may wish to 
embrace the opportunity to have their faces skinned, and 
this is a free country. 

Mark you, face skinning is vaunted as the means of 
securing eternal youth. And youth ! What the woman 
who realizes all its loss means to her will not suffer in 
an attempt to get it, or an imitation of it back ! The 
process is one of excruciating pain. I consider it attended 
also with a certain amount of danger. 

The patient who is to be skinned takes board for a 
week or two or three with the professional skinner. Then 
she pays for her board and torture in advance. She pays 
from $300 to $500, which is honestly not too high. A 
prohibitive price is, on occasions, a virtue. Next the skin- 
nee takes a seat in a big operating chair, and the skinner, 
after bathing her client's face in a solution, we will say, 
of salicylic acid — other acids would be just as effective — 
wets a sponge attached to an electrode, with the same 
solution, which is in turn attached to an electric battery 
and, turning the current on, passes this sponge over the 
skinnee's countenance. 

A.— 10 



186 HARRIET HUBBARD AYER 

The application of an irritant powerful enough to pro- 
duce an inflammation as that which follows this first 
treatment savors rather of the inquisition of our late 
friends, the Spaniards, but no one is obliged to under- 
go it. 

If it pay a woman to be skinned, let the merry art go 
on, say I. 

The first stage of the process concluded, the patient — 
and here the term is no misnomer — finds herself with a 
visage which resembles raw beef. The skinnee's face is 
now decorated with surgeon's plaster, which is laid on in 
strips up and down and crosswise, until the entire surface 
is covered. 

Days and nights of agony of a large and generous kind 
are now liberally bestowed upon the subject who is wres- 
tling so valiantly with Time. Anodynes are given to 
make the pain endurable. For active suppuration must 
ensue before the plasters can be removed, before the three 
skins that are to come away can be literally eaten off, 
and this part of the performance is no jest. 

The suppuration of the whole face requires about a 
week's time, and is truly wonderful and awe inspiring. 
During this time the skinnee subsists on liquids taken 
through a glass tube. She cannot speak or open her 
mouth, which is perhaps a qualified blessing. 

Talk about grit ! There never was anything approach- 
ing the pluck of the lady skinnee. 

When the suppuration ceases, the plaster begins to 
loosen. It comes only in bits, bringing with it the de- 
stroyed cuticle, which looks like an old parchment. 




(187) 




5WMTHEMN(i 



vi^._l ^ 



(laa) 



THE COMPLEXION 189 

The "patient'' now shows a face just the color of a 
newborn infant's — just as red, and without a line. Three 
months later the redness has disappeared, and a skin of 
delicate texture, white and transparent, is the result. 

There is no question as to the improvement in appear- 
ance, if one consider the face of a woman of sixty devoid 
of every trace of a line of thought or experience an im- 
provement upon the countenances that tell of self-sacrifice, 
patience, and courage. 

The woman past maturity without a line in her face 
is, in my opinion, as stupid as a country without a history. 

But there be those who do not share my views. 

Hence, without malice or prejudice I say: — 

Face skinning is not now a novelty. Your old friend 
Galen knew all about it. 

It has been revived successfully, and is a marketable 
commodity. As the push-cart vender just beneath my 
window shouted a moment ago : — 

"You takes it or you leaves it according to what you 
thinks." 



'^^f^ 





CHAPTER XXI 



THE COMPLEXION — Concluded 




Went all afoot in summer's scalding heat. 

— Henry VI. 

MANY of my correspondents and friends spend 
a goodly portion of the year by mountain, 
stream, and sea that a special chapter may not 
improperly be devoted to their toilet needs 
during summer outings. 

It is quite popularly supposed that the sum- 
mer season is especially trying to the complexion, and 
so, forthwith, the maids and madams at the summer re- 
sorts go armed with cosmetics, veils, and sunshades to pro- 
tect their carefully treasured faces from the glaring sun 
and boisterous breezes. 

As a rule, if one take a few simple precautions, such 
as they take almost the whole year around, they need 
have no fear of looking like frights when autumn 



comes. 

(190) 



THE COMPLEXION 191 

The Summer Girl 

First of all, she must under no circumstances omit her 
daily bath. This is the essential foundation upon which a 
clear, healthy skin is built. The bath may be taken at 
any time but just after eating. It may be cold or tepid, 
as the individual prefers, but a warm bath, it must be re- 
membered, is more cleansing. If one wish the cold bath, 
however, it should be taken in the early morning and con- 
sist of a gentle sponging with a vigorous after rab. 

After a bicycle ride or any other out-door exercise 
there is usually room for some work. Bathe the face 
thoroughly with soap and warm water, rinsing well with 
tepid water and then with cold. Dry with a soft towel 
and make an application of some good face cream. Rub 
the cream in gently, a very little at a time, with the fin- 
ger tips, and be careful not to put on too much. A 
superfluous amount of cream on the face may have a 
tendency to produce an undesirable growth of down. Al- 
low this to penetrate the pores of the skin, then wash the 
face again with warm water, removing all of the cream. 

For the girl who tans the following lotion is recom- 
mended : — 

Rose water 1 pint. 

Pulverized borax ^ ounce. 

Strained lemon juice .... 1 ounce. 

Use this lotion freely after being exposed to the sun. 

Sunburn requires a liberal dose of cold cream. A very 
good cream is made from cucumbers, and can be easily 
prepared at home : — 

Put six ounces of sweet almond oil into the inside receptacle of 
a custard boiler. Put as much water into the outside boiler as though 



192 HARRIET HUBBARD AYER 

you were aboat to make a custard. Set the two (one inside of tlie 
other) over the fire. Have ready four good-sized cucumbers. Wipe 
them carefully so they are perfectly clean. Cut them into squares, 
two or three inches in size. Do not remove the peel. When the 
almond oil begins to warm, put the cucumbers in it. Set the custard 
boiler on the back of the stove and let the water merely simmer for 
four or five hours. Strain. To six ounces of the strained liquid add 
one ounce of white wax, one of spermaceti, and two ounces of lanolin. 
Heat until the wax, spermaceti, and lanolin have melted ; then take 
off the fire and beat with an egg beater until cold, adding during 
the beating process two teaspoonfuls of tincture of benzoin. This 
will make a delicious cucumber cream if properly and carefully pre- 
pared. 

If the face show a tendency to become red, break out 
in little pimples, and seem overheated, then the diet must 
be attended to. During the hot weather one must be care- 
ful not to eat too much meat and starchy foods. The food 
required is only for repairs, and not for warmth. Vegeta- 
bles, green salads, fruits, fish, and meat sparingly should 
form the daily menu. Cold meats are better than hot, and 
richly made, highly seasoned food must be abandoned. 

During the soft early summer days the very best thing 
for the complexion is plenty of fresh air. Sunny air will 
never hurt the skin if it be properly protected by a tip- 
tilted hat or sunshade, and a warm sunny rain is better 
still. A tramp through the country during a warm shower, 
bareheaded, will do much to repair the ravages caused by 
late hours, close rooms, and the general fatigue of a fash- 
ionable season. The far-famed English complexion is due 
to the simple fact that England is a land of warm showers 
and mists. The English girl never thinks of staying home 
for rain — if she did she would spend the greater part of 
her life indoors. 



THE COMPLEXION 193 

There, is no one infallible rule which will answer for 
the preservation of every woman's skin. 

The texture of the cuticle varies according to the oc- 
cupation, the manner of life, and the climate, so that the 
result may be in one case a thickening of the epidermis 
and in another a relaxing of the tissues, and naturally the 
same treatment will not do for both subjects. 

There are also skins which have a tendency to dry on 
exposure to the wind, others which become irritated, and 
still others that grow oily and have that shiny look women 
so detest. 

Where one has been exposed to a strong, stiff wind 
with the result that the skin is irritated and sore, a soap 
paste is sometimes much better to use temporarily than 
ever so bland a soap. This paste is of very common usage 
in France, but cannot be purchased ready made, I believe, 
in this country ; at least I have never seen it for sale 
here. Any woman may make it at home after this for- 
mula: — 

Strained honey 50 grammes. 

White soap, shaved in thin strips (either 
of the floating soaps will do for this, 

or a pure white castile) .... 40 grammes. 

Tincture of benzoin 10 grammes. 

White wax 30 grammes. 

Storax 10 grammes. 

Melt the soap, honey, and white wax and mix, then add the ben- 
zoin and storax. Use instead of soap to wash the face before retiring. 
A cold cream or a cucumber cream should be applied after the face 
has been thoroughly dried. 

Where the skin is dry and feels drawn, cream should 
be used at night and a lotion applied during the day. 



194 HARRIET HUBBARD AYER 

This lotion, which is called ''Beauty Cream," is made as 
follows : — 

Rose water 200 grammes. 

Milk of sweet almonds . . 30 grammes. 
Milk of bitter almonds . . 8 grammes. 

Where the skin is oily, a milk vinegar used diluted 
with a little water night and morning is efficacious. 

MILK VINEGAR 

Alcohol 30 grammes. 

Tincture of benzoin ... 30 grammes. 
Strong white wine vinegar . 30 grammes. 

Mix and let stand for a week, and pass through filtering paper. 

Another simple summer lotion is made thus: — 

Rose water 100 grammes. 

Borax 5 grammes. 

Spirits of camphor .... 10 grammes. 

Tincture of benzoin ... 5 grammes. 

Use whenever required. 

STRAWBERRIES AND SPINACH FOR THE COMPLEXION 

Strawberries form a delicious basis for many excellent 
cosmetics. 

STRAWBERRY CREAM 

Put six ounces of sweet almond oil into the inside receptacle of 
a custard boiler. Put as much water into the outside boiler as though 
you were about to make a custard. Set the two, one inside of the 
other, over the fire. Have ready one full quart of large, ripe, hulled 
strawberries. It is essential that the strawberries should be perfectly 
ripe. When the almond oil begins to warm put the strawberries in. 
Set the custard boiler on the back of the stove, cover the inside re- 
ceptacle, and let the water in the outside kettle simmer for four or 
fivQ hours. Tak^i the almond oil and the strawberries out. Let them 



THE COMPLEXION 195 

strain through a clean, fine, cheese-cloth bag. Do not hurry the strain- 
ing process or attempt to squeeze the bag. To six ounces of the 
strained liquid add one ounce of white wax, one ounce of spermaceti, 
and two ounces of lanolin. Put all over the fire and heat until the 
last three articles have melted. Then take off the fire and beat con- 
stantly until cold, adding during the beating process two teaspoonfuls 
of tincture of benzoin, ten drops of oil of lemon, and six of oil of 
neroli. 

This will make a delicious strawberry cream if prop- 
erly and carefully prepared. 



STRAWBERRY PASTE 

To refresh the complexion and perfume the skin. 

Fresh strawberries ^ pound. 

Gum tragacanth ^ ounce. 

Violet powder i ounce. 

Dissolve the tragacanth with enough rose water to form a thin 
mucilage. Crush the strawberries ; mix and stir them up with a suf- 
ficient quantity of rose water to form a half liquid paste ; add the 
tragacanth and the violet powder ; apply the paste to the face at 
night and wash off next morning with tepid water. It is said that 
this operation repeated for three successive nights will remove all 
sunburn and tan. 

STRAWBERRY WATER 

Finest ripe strawberries, crushed . . 8 pounds. 
Pure alcohol 2 quarts. 

Digest and distill near to dryness in salt or steam bath. This is 
both agreeable and most fragrant. 

It has very high repute as a cosmetic and is used di- 
luted with water for tan, sunburn, or as an agreeable ac- 
cessory to the bath, 



196 



HARRIET HUBBARD AYER 



STRAWBERRY VINEGAR 

Bruised ripe strawberries .... 1 pint. 
White wine vinegar 1 pint. 

Macerate twenty-four hours. Press and strain. Add eight ounces 
of rose water. A delicious and stimulating lotion for the face, slightly 
astringent. 

There is scarcely anything which can compare with 
spinach as a spring medicine and beautifier. The girl 
who religiously eats it as a Lenten diet, will blossom forth 
on Easter morning with a complexion that will rival the 
lilies by its fairness. Spinach contains salts of potassium, 
iron, and other things which conduce to long life and a 
fair skin, and is worth many bottles of cure for "that 
tired feeling.'' 




Ci1L«rf?T5'* 




CHAPTER XXII 



THE EYES AND EYEBROWS 



Where is any author in the world 
Teaches such beauty as a woman's eye ? 

— Love's Labor Lost. 




.HE eye appears to be more immediately con- 
nected with the soul than any other organ. A 
woman reflects every emotion, almost every 
thought from her two wonderful, priceless eyes, 
and no feature of her face is more a telltale 
of her nature. "Show me,'' says the old Chi- 
nese proverb, "a man's eyes, and I will tell 
you what he might have been. Show me his mouth, and 
I will tell you what he has been." The same is true of 
women. Up to thirty or thirty-five a woman may be 
actress enough to make her eyes tell one tale, while her 
life would reveal another; but little by little* the true 
state of a woman's soul stands forth in the expression, 
the frankness, the furtiveness, the candor, or the boldness 

(197) 



198 HARRIET HUBBARD AYER 

of her eyes. Healthy and well-formed eyes should be 
neither too widely open, nor too closed. They should 
be neither close together, nor yet too wide apart; they 
should neither protrude nor be too deep set. The white 
of the eye should be of a bluish cast. Notwithstanding a 
lot of nonsense which has been written about the chang- 
ing of the color of the eye, no such miracle has ever been 
accomplished. We must go through our pilgrimage with 
eyes the color it has pleased Nature to paint them. Pro- 
tuberant and sunken eyes are not caused always by a 
fault of conformity, but by too much or too little adipose 
tissue around them. It is offcen possible, by eliminating 
or creating fat, to correct their appearance. Proper diet 
and massage will accomplish this feat in either case. 

Dull eyes may be made lustrous by a proper attention 
to hygiene. A beautiful eye is clear, full, brilliant, and 
appropriate in color to the subject's complexion. Every 
woman should take the utmost care of her eyes, bathing 
them several times a day in pure water, and avoiding 
every operation that will overtask them. The practice of 
using any of the so-called eye beautifiers cannot be too 
strongly condemned. Foolish women, who cannot realize 
the danger they incur, sometimes resort to preparations of 
belladonna or the vapor of diluted Prussic acid. The im- 
mediate result is an unnatural brilliancy of the pupil, but 
the practice long continued has frequently been known to 
produce decay and total blindness. 

When the eyes are reddened or swollen by excessive 
weeping, or a long stretch of work, the subject should rest, 
and apply a soothing lotion. 



THE EYES AND EYEBROWS 199 

In cases of granulated eyelids, I have had great success 
with the following recipe: — 

Yellow oxide of mercury ... 1 grain. 
Rose water ointment .... ^ ounce. 

Apply to eyelids morning and night. 

WASH FOR INFLAMED EYES 

Borax 2 grains. 

Camphor water (not spirits of camphor) 2 ounces. 

Drop a little of the solution into the eyes two or three times a 
day and bathe the lids with the mixture. 

AN EYE BRIGHTENER 

The juice of a lemon squeezed into a tumbler of water and taken 
occasionally, the last thing at night or first thing in the morning, has 
a wonderful effect on the complexion and eyes. It clears the liver 
and makes the eyes bright and sparkling. After taking the lemon 
always clean the teeth, as the acid quickly promotes decay. 

Clipping the eyelashes in youth will sometimes produce 
a heavier growth, and an occasional application of a lotion 
made by dissolving ten grains of sulphate of quinine in 
two ounces of cologne will stimulate the growth. The 
eyebrow-growth formula, which is given on another page, 
may also be used with care for the eyelashes, and is usu- 
ally efficacious. 

Crossed eyes and squinting eyes are so easily curable 
that there is no excuse for girls reaching womanhood so 
afflicted. 

TEA EYEWASH 

Hot water poured on tea leaves, and the mixture allowed to steep 
and cool, makes a soothing eyewash. 



200 HARRIET HUBBARD AYER 

WITCH-HAZEL EYEWASH 

Distilled witch-hazel 1 ounce. 

Pure water . , 1 ounce. 

To be used especially for eyes irritated by cold. Bathe the eyes 
frequently with the wash. 

BRANDY EYEWASH 

Brandy 1 "drachm. 

Water .1 ounce. 

To be used especially for eyes irritated from cold. Apply fre- 
quently. 

ALUM EYEWASH 

Alum 1 grain. 

Pure water 1 ounce. 

Drop gently, night and morning, into the eye with the tip of a 
feather, a pipette, or some such thing, and this will sensibly relieve 
inflammation. 

ZINC EYEWASH 

Sulphate of zinc 1 grain. 

Rose water 1 ounce. 

Drop the solution gently into the eyes, night and morning. For 
inflamed eyes. 

A good salve for inflamed eyes, as follows : — 

Oleate of mercury salve ... 1 drachm. 

Apply to the eyelids after bathing them gently, night and morn- 
ing, with hot water. 

THE Eyebrows 

The eyebrow has not failed to secure fame in prose 
and poetry, and the eyebrow immortalized by Shake- 
speare's lover *' Sighing like a furnace with a woful bal- 
lad made to his mistress' eyebrow" was doubtless long, 




THE PERFECT EYE 



(201) 




OLD TYPE OF BEAUTY 



(202) 



THE E¥ES AND EYEBROWS 203 

straight, archless, narrow, and delicately penciled, accepted 
by the Greeks as the perfect feminine eyebrow. 

There are various opinions on the subject, and it is 
conceded that the Greek eyebrow is quite in accord with 
the conception of mere physical beauty in women. Like 
the rosebud mouth, it does not indicate the highest order 
of intelligence, and the arch is expressive always of greater 
sensibility and greater strength of character. 

Scant growth of the eyebrows invariably denotes lack 
of vitality, and external applications are useless to pro- 
mote or produce a growth until the general health im- 
proves ; on the contrary, heavy, thick eyebrows indicate a 
strong constitution and great physical endurance. They 
are not beautiful on a woman's face,' however much they 
may signify either mental or bodily vigor, and when 
they are not heavy, but droop and meet at the nose, they 
are disagreeable, and are said to accompany an insincere 
and prying nature. Fortunately, with a pair of small 
tweezers these quite superfluous hairs may be removed, 
and let us hope the traits they are supposed to indicate, 
disappear with them. 

Roma.ntic women usually have a very well-defined arch 
in the center of the eyebrow, while a sense of humor is 
indicated in the arch nearer the nose. 

Long, drooping eyebrows, lying wide apart, indicate an 
amiable disposition. 

_ When the eyebrows are lighter in color than the hair, 
the indications are lack of vitality and great sensitiveness. 

Faintly-defined eyebrows placed high above the nose 
are signs of indolence and weakness. 



204 HARRIET HUBBARD AVER 

The toilet of the eyebrow is simple. The hair of the 
eyebrow can be trained to lie close and smooth to the 
skin, thus resembling the penciled lines we read of so 
often, by the aid of a tiny little brush manufactured for 
the purpose, and for sale at all shops dealing in articles 
for the toilet. 

Where the eyebrows are too broad and inclined to be 
bushy, they should be daily trained by brushing, and will, 
in a short time, show an immense improvement. 

When the hair falls out of the eyebrows, use the fol- 
lowing ointment, which has never failed in my experience 
to arrest the disease and cause a new growth : — 

Red vaseline ....... 3 ounces. 

Tincture cantharides 1 ounce. 

Jamaica rum 1 ounce. 

Oil rosemary 5 drops. 

Mix all thoroughly ; apply twice daily with the eyebrow brush. 

For continuous use where the eyebrows are healthy, a 
little glycerine and rose water will give the delicate line 
emphasis and brilliancy. 

Very black eyebrows give the face an intense and 
searching expression ; when natural they accompany a pas- 
sionate temperament. 

Very light eyebrows rarely are seen on strongly intel- 
lectual faces, although the color of the eyebrow is not ac- 
cepted singly as denoting lack of intelligence ; the form 
gives the key to the faculties and their direction. 

Red eyebrows denote great fervor and ambition; brown 
a medium between the black and the red. 



THE EYES AND EYEBROWS 205 

A cosmetic successfully used for darkening the eye- 
brows is the Fard Indien, either in pencil form, which is 
the more convenient, or applied with a delicate brush 
from the porcelain tablet. 

Where the eyebrows are very light, almost white, they 
may be dyed or stained so that the artifice is absolutely 
impossible to detect, and the improvement will sometime 
make the difference between a plain and a pretty woman. 
This operation should not be done by an amateur. Any 
skillful person accustomed to the management of hair dyes 
can do it successfully. 

Where the eyebrows meet at the nose, they give the 
face a most sinister and suspicious expression. In such 
cases the superfluous hairs should be removed by the aid 
of small tweezers or by electrolysis. If the tweezers be 
used, the operation must be renewed once in three or four 
weeks. 

A too heavy growth of eyebrows may be treated by 
electricity. All the superfluous hairs can be removed by 
this method, which is by far the best. 

A.-ll 





CHAPTER XXm 



THE NOSE 




In love, i' faith, to the very tip. of the nose. — Shakespeare. 

vHE most perfectly modeled nose is a trial if it 
has the habit of getting spotty or turning red 
with or without apparent provocation. I do 
not know of anything more vexatious to wom- 
ankind than a red, blotchy, or shining nose. 
Usually, although it is difficult to impress the 
fact upon the afflicted woman, red or blotchy 
noses are the result of some excess or carelessness, often 
aggravated until there is a well-defined malady which 
must be cured before the blush will fade or the eruption 
disappear. Acidity of the stomach, indigestion, dyspepsia, 
poor circulation, all mean more or less congestion, and 
frequently, the blotchy or fiery nose is the outward sign 
of an inward stomach derangement. Acidity of the stom- 
ach is very disagreeable to bear and destructive in its 
effects upon the complexion. In its early stages it may 

(206) 



THE NOSE 207 

often be controlled by the following most simple of reme- 
dies : — 

Half teaspoonful of sulphate of soda. Dissolve in half tumbler 
of boiling hot water. Drink as hot as you can one hour before break- 
fast. Repeat the dose in thirty minutes. 

Pure, hot water, drunk as hot as possible, several glasses 
a day will often without any medicine at all cure this 
form of indigestion, and the red nose will vanish with the 
return of normal digestion. Tight lacing — tight clothing 
of any kind — any stricture, in fact, will sometimes pro- 
duce a red or blotchy nose and it seems superfluous to 
advise the addition of an inch or two to the waist meas- 
ure or looser shoes to the sufferer. Local irritation will 
also cause inflamed nostrils, and of course the influenza, 
rose fever, and that hideous epidemic called hay fever, have 
their accompaniment of weeping, inflamed noses and eyes. 
Change of climate, it is conceded, is the only escape from 
this yearly martyrdom, but I have seen wonderful effects 
produced in cases of chronic rose and hay fever by Mar- 
chand's hydrozone and glycozone treatment as follows : — 
. By means of an atomizer made of glass and rubber, 
spray the nose and throat copiously and repeatedly, morn- 
ing and evening with a mixture made of: — 

One tablespoonful of hydrozone, 

with 8 to 20 tablespoonfuls of lukewarm water, 

according to the degree of inflammation of the nasal cavi- 
ties. In case of extreme sensitiveness, use even still a 
larger proportion of water. 

Some patients may use a mixture made of one part of 
hydrozone with four parts of water, while others could 



208 HARRIET HUBBARD AYER 

not stand it any stronger than one part of hydrozone di- 
luted with thirty parts of lukewarm water. 

Always take great care that the remedy passes through 
the post nasal cavities and reaches the throat, so as to 
thoroughly cleanse the diseased surface. 

In the absence of an atomizer, apply the remedy to 
the nose by sniffing the liquid from the hand through the 
nostrils repeatedly, and gargle the throat. It is always 
beneficial to swallow the remedy. 

Do not blow the nose too hard, as it might cause a 
temporary bleeding, on account of the excessive tender- 
ness of the mucous membrane. 

It often happens that the patient feels during one hour 
or so after each spraying, a temporary obstruction of 
either one or the other of the nostrils. 

This unpleasant feeling may be accompanied by fre- 
quent sneezing, which is due to the tickling sensation pro- 
duced in the nasal cavities by the presence of a great 
quantity of the minute bubbles of ozone being set free 
from the decompositions of the remedy coming in con- 
tact with the infected surface. 

In chronic cases, when the middle ear is affected, deaf- 
ness may result from this disease, in which case ozonized 
vapor inhalations should follow immediately the cleansing 
of the nose and throat, and should be administered by 
means of Marchand's Hand Atomizer and Ozonizer with a 
mixture made as follows : — 

Hydrozone . . ' . .1 tablespoonful. 

Water 1 tablespoonful. 

Pure glycerine ... 2 tablespoonfuls. 

Shake well and renew every three days. 



THE NOSE 209 

When chronic catarrh of the nose is very tenacious 
and painful, in addition to the above treatment, apply a 
few drops of glycozone to the nostrils. Sniff it gently as 
it will accelerate a cure and relieve the sensation of full- 
ness in the nostrils. Glycozone relieves also the dryness 
of the mucous membrane which often accompanies chronic 
cases. 

Sometimes intense itching of the nose is caused by an 
internal trouble which, according to Dr. Augagnem, a well- 
known French dermatologist, may frequently be cured by 
the following: — 

SYRUP FOR REDNESS AND ITCHING OF THE SKIN 

Phenic acid (crystals) . . 5 grammes. 

Pure glycerine enough to dissolve. 

Syrup of orange peel . 400 grammes. 

Dose for an adult, one teaspoonful twice daily. 

This same prescription with the phenic acid dimin- 
ished to three grammes is, according to Augagnem, excel- 
lent for pruritus or eczema in children. 

Let my readers who are troubled with poor circulation 
and red noses try the following most successful and 
agreeable treatment. It consists of what the French call 
an aromatic bath, with massage after. 

FOR AROMATIC BATH 

Rosemary tops 1,000 grammes. 

Boiling water 10 quarts. 

Bicarbonate of soda . . . 250 grammes. 

Make an infusion of the leaves and boiling water ; let stand half 
an hour ; strain ; add the soda, and pour all into the warm water pre- 
pared for the bath. This bath is a calmative. It should be taken 
warm. r 



210 HARRIET HUBBARD AYER 

A red nose is generally the sign of bad circulation or 
impure blood. It is frequently accompanied also by cold 
feet. In this case rubbing the feet for fifteen minutes be- 
fore retiring will sometimes so stimulate the circulation 
that the redness disappears from the nose with the im- 
proved general condition of the subject. A very good 
lotion for the inflamed condition which is usually the ac- 
companiment of a red nose is made of rose water mixed 
with 2 per cent, of its bulk of carbolic acid. 

Shiny, oily noses may often be cured by bathing the 
entire face daily with a weak solution of soda water. 
Use common washing soda, — a bit about the size of a 
filbert to say a quart of warm water. The circulation is 
always at fault in these cases, and sensible women who 
have troublesome noses are asked to take plenty of fresh 
air and exercise and eschew all highly-spiced food. Use 
your scrubbing brushes on refractory noses. It will make 
them redder for a few days, but it will help in their cure 
finally. 

FOR AN OILY NOSE 

Sulphate of zinc 4 grains. 

Compound tincture of lavender . . 16 drops. 
Distilled water 2 ounces. 

Use as a lotion. In some cases where the skin is excessively oily 
it is necessary to remove the oil from the cuticle. Where this is so, 
it is well to wipe the skin with a soft rag impregnated with benzine 
before using the lotion. 

FOR A SHINY NOSE 

The remedy here given is often very successful. 

Take one drachm of boracic acid and mix it with four ounces of 
rose water. Apply the lotion to your refractory nose as often as 
necessary. 



THE NOSE 211 

I have received a letter from one of my correspondents, 
to which it is pertinent to refer. She says : " I am a very 
good-looking woman — or should be — but about fifteen 
years ago, when I was a little girl of ten, I fell while 
skating and broke my nose ; it was not properly set, and 
it is now almost a deformity. I am assured it can be 
made straight, but I would like you to tell me honestly 
if you think it really can be made over into a nice 
nose." 

I certainly do, for I have seen the operation performed ; 
but for all such operations you should carefully select an 
expert surgeon. Consult your family physician who will 
very likely tell you to let your nose alone — insist that it 
is not well enough until it is as straight as it can be 
made, and get him to tell you the name of the most skill- 
ful surgeon within your reach. Crooked noses can un- 
questionably be made straight, even after maturity ; and 
in early childhood, owing to the soft nature of the carti- 
lages that form the nostrils, the shape of the lower part 
of the nose may be much improved by gentle daily pres- 
sure. A beautiful nose is the greatest possible ornament 
to the face of a woman and so rare that it excites the 
admiration at once. Lavater, the physiognomist, declared 
that there were thousands of beautiful eyes to one hand- 
some nose. It is a somewhat singular fact that only about 
three in every hundred noses are to be found where they 
belong — in the middle of the face; the ninety-seven will 
digress from the perpendicular line, whereas the bridge 
should form a straight line drawn exactly between the 
eyes. The Greek nose, which is the most beautiful, is so 



212 HARRIET HUBBARD AYER 

rare that artists have frequently looked in vain for a 
Greek-nosed model. 

I was crossing the ocean some years ago, and could 
not but remark the curious manner in which one of the 
passengers appeared to follow a lady acquaintance who 
sat near me at the table. The man was finally presented 
to me as Mr. Blank, a distinguished foreign painter. About 
forty seconds after he had been introduced to me, he said : 
" Madame, could you present me to your friend ? I have 
never seen such a nose on a woman's face. I would give 
a year of my life for a model with such a nose. I have 
not been able to take my eyes from Madame's face since 
she came on board the ship." It was true, the lady did 
have a beautiful Greek nose, and the stranger's peculiar 
manner arose from the ardor of the artist who had never 
before, he assured us, seen a perfect nose of Greek form. 
I presented the painter to the lady, and during the re- 
mainder of the voyage he amused us all by his evident 
adoration of the perfect nose. We cannot all have Greek 
noses, but the coming generation need none of them have 
pug noses or turned-ups. Daily care in childhood, pressing 
the pugnacious feature into shape, pulling it gently down, 
will lengthen and straighten it. A pug nose is amusing 
in a child or even piquant in a young girl, but a middle- 
aged woman — an old woman with a pug or turned-up 
nose is far from attractive. Do not let us have any more 
of them. (See Chapter XLII.) 

Red veins which are seen frequently on the nose may 
be arrested by great abstemiousness and care not to ex- 
pose the skin to sudden changes of temperature. I have 



THE NOSE 213 

never seen an actual cure of a well-defined case of telan- 
giectasis, which is the technical name for red veins. Per- 
sons suffering from this disfiguring blemish should never 
touch alcohol in any form. To resort to the knife or to 
electricity is not only very dangerous, but, as I have said, 
so rarely successful ; I know of no authentic case. 

To Stop Bleeding from the Nose 

This may be caused by violence, or may arise from an 
impoverished state of the blood. When it occurs in per- 
sons of middle age it is more serious, as it is then often 
a symptom of some other disease. The bleeding can gen- 
erally be stopped by making the patient raise both his 
arms above his head, and hold them there for some time. 
Sponging, with cold or iced water, the forehead or face, 
or applying a towel wet with cold water between the 
shoulders, will in most cases succeed. The application of 
a strong solution of alum or iron-alum to the inside of 
the nostrils, or plugging the nostrils with lint or cotton 
wool soaked in the solution, may be necessary if the 
bleeding be profuse. The health of persons subject to 
these attacks should be improved by nutritious diet, ani- 
mal food, with potatoes, water cresses, and fruit. The fol- 
lowing prescription may be relied upon : — 

Tincture of steel 2 drachms. 

Dilute muriatic acid .... 1 drachm. 
Syrup of orange peel .... 1 ounce. 
Infusion of calumba .... 7 ounces. 

Mix. For a child, 1 tablespoonful in a wineglass of water before 
meals; for an adult the dose may be increased. 



214 HARRIET HUBBARD AYER 

Placing a small roll of paper or muslin above the front 
teeth, under the upper lip, and pressing hard on the same, 
will arrest bleeding from the nose by checking the passage 
of blood through the arteries leading to the nose. 

Bleeding at the nose, when not caused by a blow or 
other violence, will usually cease of itself in a short time 
as it is frequently an effort of nature to relieve the con- 
gested vessels. When it becomes persistent or is exces- 
sive, the simplest and most effective means of arresting 
it is to make a probe of a slender lead pencil or any- 
thing of like form, and introduce by this means a small 
bit of soft cotton previously dipped in a mild solution of 
alum, creosote, strong black tea or even cold water. 
Should this not succeed, a little of one of these liquids 
may be snuffed up the nostrils or a small piece of ice 
placed in the one from which the blood flows. 

Dr. Negrier, a physician of Tangiers, discovered that in 
ordinary cases of nosebleed, raising the arm of the af- 
fected side will arrest the flow. It is well to try this 
method before resorting to any other treatment. Women 
of lymphatic temperament are subject sometimes to a 
periodical swelling of the nose which makes its appear- 
ance usually after eating or on coming into a warm room 
from out-of-doors on a cold day. Nothing is more de- 
structive to a woman's looks. Frequently the swelling is 
accompanied by intense itching, and the nose will appear 
to be in a highly inflamed condition. Without rhyme or 
reason the inflammation will usually disappear as sud- 
denly as it came. While it lasts it is annoying to an ex- 
treme degree. The quickest and safest remedy for such 



THE NOSE 



215 



an afl9.iction is a large dose of castor oil, and a warm 
soda bath, or a lotion composed of rose water mixed with 
two per cent, of its bulk of carbolic acid. To prevent a 
recurrence of the swelling, the strictest attention to the 
diet should be maintained. The patient should live on 
fruits, vegetables, and saline drinks, taking an abundance 
of out-of-door exercise. 





CHAPTER XXIV 



THE EAR 



And here have I the daintiness of ea.r. — Henry IV. 




HE perfect ear should be about twice as long as 
broad, and should be attached to the head al- 
most straight or slightly inclined backwards, 
and should touch the head with the back of 
its upper point. The critical observer will find 
very few perfect ears. Mothers and nurses 
are greatly to blame for the almost deformed 
ear we constantly see in our young people. There is 
nothing gives a lad so uncouth an appearance as wide, 
projecting ears, and although a girl can dress her hair to 
somewhat lessen the ugly deformity, as long as the ears 
stand out from the head they are a great blemish. There 
is no need to have recourse to a surgeon to effect a cure 
in outstanding ears. A simple bandage worn at night, 
which holds them flat to the head, is all that is neces- 
sary. There is some sort of a patent skeleton cap, I 

(216) 



THE EAR 217 

believe, which has the same purpose in view, and is more 
comfortable to wear, particularly in warm weather. The 
ear contains no bones and is for this reason easily 
trained. 

The reprehensible practice of piercing the ears is trace- 
able to remote antiquity. I am opposed to it, not from 
an aesthetic point of view alone, though I think any mu- 
tilation of the flesh abominable ; but piercing the ears is 
not always a simple and harmless operation. It has been 
known, when clumsily performed, to develop erysipelas 
and abscesses of a most painful ajid sometimes dangerous 
character. Eczema of the ear is a common ailment and 
a most disagreeable one. Indeed, all maladies of the ex- 
ternal ear are peculiarly offensive. Women subject to 
eczema should eat quantities of fruit, salads, particularly 
dandelion and water cress, they should take frequent warm, 
calmative baths, and above all, they should not get either 
chilled or overheated. For a local application a weak 
dilution of carbolic acid is healing and agreeable, or a 
few drops of listerin diluted with water will allay the 
fearful itching of eczema of the ear. The following oint- 
ment is also excellent : — 

CARBOLATED OINTMENT 

Melt together 5 ounces pure lard, and 2^ ounces white wax ; add 
^ ounce balsam of fir, and when it begins to cool, stir in ^ ounce 
carbolic acid. The addition of balsam of fir to this preparation corrects 
the disagreeable odor of the acid, and renders it slightly adhesive, 
which is desirable. 

The ear is liable to various disorders. Children almost 
without exception, suffer from what is called " earache," 



218 HARRIET HUBBARD AYER 

caused by a cold, occasionally by a blow. For common 
cases of earache, nothing is more effective than the appli- 
cation of either one of the lotions which I here give. 

LOTION NO. I, FOR EARACHE 

Tincture of opium ..... 1 drachm. 
Olive oil ..,...,. 1 drachm. 

Tincture of opium is otherwise known as laudanum. The mixture 
should be heated. Insert a smal] piece of raw cotton thoroughly 
moistened with the lotion. 

LOTION NO. 2 

Sulphate atropine 8 grains. 

Pure water 1 ounce. 

Mix. Apply to the inside of the ear by the aid of a camel's- 
hair pencil brush. The application may be made frequently. 

'Where the earache is very severe a five to ten per 
cent, solution of cocaine administered by the aid of the 
cameFs-hair pencil brush, will temporarily at least, give 
quick relief. 

When the earache is continuous the subject should 
consult a skillful aurist. Failure to do this not unfre- 
quently has resulted in permanent deafness. 

Occasionally earache is caused by the formation of a 
hard mass of wax at the bottom of the outer passage. 
This accumulation will also produce deafness. It is too 
dangerous to attempt to dislodge this hardened cerumen, 
one's self. The subject should immediately go to an ex- 
perienced practitioner in diseases of the ear, for relief. 

Children are sometimes subject to running from the 
ears. In such cases they should be immediately taken for 
examination to a good aurist. 



THE EAR 219 

Grown persons, as well as children, suffer agonies from 
earache. Where it is possible, a physician should always 
be called, as the pain which seems to be old-fashioned 
earache may be the precursor of a more serious ailment. 
Where one lives at a distance from a doctor, it is well to 
have a remedy at hand. I have tried Duval's earache 
cure frequently, and always with success. The Duval 
formula is as follows: — 

Laudanum and chloroform, 15 drops each. Mix. Wet a small bit 
of cotton with the mixture, and introduce into the ear. The first effect 
is a sensation of cold ; then there is a numbness followed by scarcely 
perceptible pain and a refreshing sleep. It is of the greatest importance 
that the external ear should be kept clean, and above all that the yellow 
cerumen should never be allowed to remain in the passage until it has 
hardened. 

When the ear has been neglected until the cerumen is 
hardened, it produces temporary deafness, which may be 
removed by the following : — 

Sassafras oil 10 drops. 

Glycerine 1 fluid drachm. 

Olive oil J ounce. 

Mix thoroughly and drop a little into the ear every day until the 
cerumen is softened so that it may be removed. 

The ear should always be cleansed by the aid of a 
small toilet utensil called an aurilave, — usually made of 
bone or ivory, with a tiny sponge covering one end. 

It is an extraordinary and most disagreeable fact which 
I feel compelled to mention, that many women, otherwise 
scrupulously clean, seem not to understand how to wash 
and cleanse the ear of the accumulations of dust or ceru- 
men. Nothing can be more shockingly disgusting than 



220 HARRIET HUBBARD AYER 

the result of such neglect. Occasionally one sees a group 
of blackheads in the shell of the ear. They are firmly 
imbedded, and more difficult to remove than in the face. 
They should be expelled by pressing either side of them 
with the fingers which should be covered with a handker- 
chief or bit of linen, to prevent the nails from cutting 
the skin. After the blackheads have been removed, the 
ear should be thoroughly washed with soap and water to 
which may be added a bit" of washing soda or a little 
carbolic acid in solution. 

Living insects sometimes get into the ear, and cause 
great alarm. Thej are instantly destroyed by pouring a 
spoonful of warm olive oil, or camphorated oil, into the 
ear, retaining it there until the next morning by means 
of a piece of cotton wool, when it may be washed or 
syringed out with a little mild soap and warm water. 





mmn 



CHAPTER XXV 



THE MOUTH AND TEETH 



Oh, how rife in show, 
Thy lips those tempting cherries kissing grow. 

— Midsummer Night's Bream. 




PERFECT mouth is, according to sculptors and 
painters, of medium size, the upper lip bow- 
shaped, the under nearly straight. The lips 
themselves, in nature of a bright crimson, 
should be neither too thick, which gives 
them a sensual expression, nor too thin, as 
in the latter case the whole countenance as- 
sumes an appearance of hardness and penuriousness. The 
influence of the mouth and teeth on the personal beauty 
of a woman is known and freely admitted by all, and if 
a girl have a beautiful set of even, white, compact teeth, 
she has the foundation of enough beauty for the average 
woman. With the most irregular features, I have seen 
women who were irresistible because they were possessed 



A.--12 



(221) 



222 HARRIET HUBBARD AYER 

of an utterly enchanting mouth and teeth. Indeed, were 
I to choose any one feature of the face as the keystone 
for beauty building, I should say unhesitatingly, give me a 
beautiful mouth and perfect teeth, and I will do the rest. 
I can transform ugly skins into lilies and roses, make 
coarse hair glossy and luxuriant, give the eyes a gentle 
and womanly expression so that they will be sweetly at- 
tractive even though jper se they are not beautiful, but I 
am always rather discouraged by a noticeably malformed 
mouth, and distinctly so when the lips of a woman part 
to reveal decayed, misshapen teeth, pale, unwholesome 
gums, and a diseased and fetid breath. However we live 
fortunately in the age of wonderful dentistry, and even 
the unfortunate woman with crooked, misshapen teeth 
need not despair. Crooked teeth may be straightened, de- 
cayed teeth cleaned and filled, discolored ones bleached, 
and even hopelessly diseased ones may be treated and the 
disorder arrested, and there are artificial teeth made to-day 
which really do defy detection. It is positively essential 
to every woman's beauty to keep her mouth healthy or 
her breath will be offensive. 

"Disease and health for a warm pair of lips 

Like York and Lancaster, wage active strife. 

One on his banner front the white rose keeps 
And one the red ; and thus with woman's life, 

Her lips are made a battlefield for those 
Who struggle for the color of a rose." 

Nothing so soon is fatal to the beauty of the mouth as 
disease in any form. The fever which gives the eye its 
unnatural and often fascinating brilliancy will also paint 



THE MOUTH AND TEETH 223 

the cheeks with a flush of exquisite rose, — its effect on 
the lips is to dry them and make them parched and 
brown and blistered looking, and the breath is tainted in- 
stantly by disease. You will hear a physician or a nurse 
exclaim: "She had a sore throat. I knew at once by her 
breath it was diphtheritic" — or — '*He had a typhoid 
breath" — or — "She certainly had consumption. I recog- 
nized the phthisis breath." Whenever the breath is con- 
taminated, you should look at once for the cause. In 
children frequently it is due to some slight derangement 
of the stomach, or it may be and usually is, the fore- 
runner of a childish malady. But where it is chronic in 
young or old, there is need of a skillful doctor at once. 
The catarrhal breath is peculiarly offensive, yet I think it 
can be almost always greatly palliated if not entirely dis- 
infected. For immediate use the following is an antiseptic 
wash, and will for a certain time correct an offensive 
breath. 

ANTISEPTIC TOOTH WASH FOR OFFENSIVE BREATH (Beaumez) 
Phenic acid 1 sramme. 



Boric acid 
Thymol (in crystals) 
Essence of mentha 
Tincture of anise . 
Distilled water . 



25 grammes. 

grammes 50 
30 drops. 
10 grammes. 

3 pints. 



Rinse the mouth with the above, which should be diluted for use 
in the proportion of one-half tooth wash to same quantity of clear water. 
Use after each meal and at any time required. 

For a positive cure of catarrhal breath I know of 
nothing so efficacious as Marchand's hydrozone and gly co- 
zone treatment. 



224 'HARRIET HUBBARD AYER 

When the breath is continuously offensive, the follow- 
ing pastilles are recommended, as they may be carri'ed in 
the pocket and are very efficacious: — 

Pulverized coffee 45 grammes. 

Wood charcoal 16 grammes. 

Pulverized sugar . . . . .15 grammes. 
Vanilla extract 15 grammes. 

Mucilage made from Senegal gum — enough to form paste of proper 
consistency. 

Mix the coffee, charcoal, and sugar thoroughly with 
mortar and pestle, add the vanilla, then the mucilage, 
which is made by dissolving the gum in water. Roll the 
paste out thin and cut in little squares. Keep in tin or 
pasteboard boxes. 

All children of our day have a right, which advanced 
dentistry in various branches gives them, to a set of reg- 
ular, sound, white teeth. I will qualify this somewhat 
by excepting the little unfortunates who come into this 
world with the taint of scrofula (or consumption, which 
is also scrofulous), in their veins. Even with these ter- 
rible legacies much may be done to strengthen and assist 
the bone in the formation of the teeth and the straight- 
ening of crooked, overlapped ones. Many a girl has had 
all her chances of ever becoming a pretty woman quite 
ruined by a mouthful of crooked, overlapping uneven 
teeth. 

Frequently a girPs looks are destroyed by a narrow and 
protruding upper jaw which a little care will transform 
into a symmetrical feature. In these cases, it is well al- 
ways to consult a good scientific surgeon dentist. Do not, 



THE MOUTH AND TEETH 225 

however, permit a sound tooth, no matter how it over- 
laps, to be extracted on the advice of any one dentist ; 
teeth are far too precious to run any risks about. In 
every case, the teeth should be straightened as they come 
in, for ivhile they are coming in the jaw will yield and 
make place for them. After they are firmly set, even 
though one resorts to extracting one or two where they 
are crowded, to make room for the others, the result is a 
space and the remaining teeth will only stay straight 
while the torturing plate has them in a vice. I have 
seen children suffer such agonies from those cruel plates 
that I would never consent to the use of one again. I re- 
member too vividly, one dear child's torture and my own 
horror, when, upon examining the plate which was to 
straighten her teeth, and had been by the dentist firmly 
attached by all sorts of brutal contrivances so she could 
not herself take it out, I found the proud flesh protrud- 
ing from it in bits, some of them half an inch in length, 
all around between the plate and her teeth. This child 
suffered martyrdom through the brutality of a dentist, 
and after all, the operation was a failure, resulting in 
nervous prostration of the victim, the loss of two beauti- 
ful sound teeth, and no result in straightening those 
which were to be connected by the vacancies made in 
extracting. The bill for this service was five hundred 
and twenty-five dollars. Let one such experience be a 
lesson to those who read of it. 

It is now conceded that a great deal depends on the 
care of the baby teeth. The period of dentition is of 
course a very trying one, but it can be greatly ameliorated 



226 HARRIET HUBBARD AYER 

by care and the greatest possible cleanliness. A teething 
baby should have at least two full warm water baths each 
day and the little mouth and gums should be washed fre- 
quently with a weak solution of borax and cooling water. 
The very moment the first little tooth appears, you should 
buy the baby a tiny soft camel's-hair toothbrush, and 
morning and night each little tooth should be cleansed. 
Use the borax solution for this, and if agreeable to the 
baby, add just a drop of essence of peppermint. Never 
extract the first teeth to make way for the second Let 
them drop out as they will, or at the most assist them 
only to make their exit when they are hanging by a mere 
thread. Children, and in fact grown people, rarely brush 
their teeth properly. Teach the little people to brush 
up and down, never across the tooth — in the latter the 
enamel is rubbed across the grain and frequently is worn 
off by too much brushing the wrong way. The best denti- 
frice for children is camphorated chalk, which is readily 
made at home. It is cleansing, antiseptic, and wholesome. 
The following is an excellent formula for it: — 

TOOTH POWDER NO. i 

Precipitated chalk . . . . . *4 ounces. 
Powdered orris root .... 8 ounces. 
Powdered camphor , .... 1 ounce. 

Reduce the camphor to a fine powder in a mortar, moistening it 
with a very little alcohol. Add other ingredients. Mix thoroughly, 
and sift through a fine bolting cloth. 



THE MOUTH AND TEETH 227 

TOOTH POWDER NO. 2 

A good tooth powder may be prepared at a small cost 
as follows : — 

Take two ounces of prepared chalk, add to it one-half an ounce 
of powdered orris root and a quarter of an ounce of carbonate of 
soda. Mix and pass twice through a wire sieve and it is ready for 
use. 

One of the most offensively painful afflictions of the 
mouth is too abundant salivation, which is frequently ac- 
companied by a relaxed condition of the lips and a lack 
of control of the muscles. There is nothing more disgust- 
ing than the accumulation of saliva in the corners of the 
mouth. The following is the famous ''ZeissP' formula for 
the cure of what is called in English text-books, "a slob- 
bering mouth." 

FORMULA FOR TOO ABUNDANT SALIVATION — (Zeiss!) 

Distilled water .... 250 grammes. 

Cinnamon water . . . 50 grammes. 

Syrup of cinnamon ... 20 grammes. 

Tincture of iodine ... 4 grammes. 

Dilute with water. Rinse the mouth well two or three times daily. 

Children often acquire bad habits of making mouths — 
of grimacing — and sometimes suck or bite the lips until 
they so distort them as to produce a permanent deform- 
ity and ruin the expression of the face. They should be 
deterred from habits which are fatal to good looks. 
Mouthy children are unpleasant, but they are curable. 
(See also Chapter XLII.) It is astonishing, however, to 



228 HARRIET HUBBARD AYER 

note certain persons, not children by an}^ means, who ap- 
pear to be utterly unconscious of the appearance of their 
countenances when they are chatting or laughing. They 
engage in the most extraordinary muscular contortions 
and distortions sometimes revealing whole sets of not too 
attractive teeth and even half an inch of gum above 
them and presenting an almost savage appearance. I 
think it would be wise to insist where a young girl i3 
getting into such a way, that she should be made to 
watch her uncanny appearance by conversing before a 
mirror. The vanity happily inherent in our sex and with- 
out which we should, in my opinion, be but a sad lot of 
" females " as Mr. Pickwick would say, may be depended 
upon to effect a cure. 

Massage is the only treatment for the drooping cor- 
ners of the mouth. Make the movement upward and out- 
ward ; downward facial movements work ruin. 

It is something to live in the day of crown fillings. 
Think of it, those who have gone through the martyrdom 
of tooth extracting and the miseries of the old-fashioned 
artificials. Yet, it is not so very long ago since teeth 
were filled or stopped in good old London with " wooden 
plugs." Think of the agony of that operation. I saw a 
woman the other day who is conservative to the last de- 
gree. She is rejoicing in most beautifully scientific den- 
tistry including bridge-work, crowns, and all the latest 
novelties and luxuries of the dental world. I could 
scarcely believe my eyes. She looked as though she had 
found the fountain of youth and taken a plunge in its 
restoring waters. It is not astonishing that in old times 



THE MOUTH AND TEETH 



229 



the removal of a front tooth was the punishment for 
many crimes. To be minus a front tooth was a lasting 
brand of degradation and convicted prisoners would beg 
for the lash or for any other form of punishment. 

Sometimes it happens that despite the greatest care 
the gums soften and recede ; there is usually an inherited 
cause. Taken in time the following wash is very eflBca- 
cious in hardening the gums : — 



WASH FOR RECEDING GUMS— (Delestre) 

Catechu . . . . .' . aa 32 grammes. 

Myrrh 32 grammes. 

Balm of Peru ..... 4 grammes. 
Extract of cochlearia . . .155 grammes. 

Macerate for eight days ; filter ; use diluted with water to rinse 
the mouth and gums as often as required. 

The famous Eau Botot, a dentifrice of great renown, is 
made as follows: — 



EAU BOTOX 



Green anise 
Cinnamon 
Cloves . 
Pellitory . 
Cochineal . 
Cream of tartar 
Benzoin (tincture) 
Essence of peppermint 
Alcohol a 80 ... 



64 grammes. 
16 grammes. 

1 gramme. 

4 grammes. 

5 grammes. 
5 grammes. 

2 grammes. 
4 grammes. 

2000 grammes. 



Mix the cream of tartar, benzoin, and cochineal together, then add 
the other ingredients. Macerate for eight days. Filter and bottle for 
us©. 



230 HARRIET HUBBARD AYER 

For chapped lips the following is a good ointment: — 

LIP SALVE 

Spermaceti . . . . . . IJ ounces. 

White wax 1 ounce. 

Almond oil 4 ounces. 

Alkanet root . . . . . .3 drachms. 

Melt all in a water bath. Let it nearly cool and add : — 

Balsam of Peru . . . . 4 drachms. 

Oil of cloves 20 drops. 

Essence of ambergris . . 3 drops. 

A CURE FOR TOOTHACHE 

Acetate of morphine grammes 05. 

Essence of menthol 4 drops. 

Phenic acid (pure) 20 drops. 

Collodion Q. S. to make 4 grammes of the mixture. 

Moisten a bit of cotton and apply to the cavity. 
OINTMENT FOR COLD SORES AND FEVER BLISTERS 



rrains. 



Camphor 5 

Powdered arrowroot . . . ^ drachm. 
Subnitrate of bismuth. . . ^ drachm. 
Ointment of rose water . . J ounce. 

Apply whenever necessary to the lips. 



MYRRH AND BORAX MOUTH WASH 

Rub together in a mortar one-half ounce each of pulverized borax 
and strained honey ; then add gradually one pint of pure alcohol and 
one -half ounce each of gum myrrh and red saunders wood. Let the 
whole stand in a large-mouthed glass bottle for two weeks. Shake the 
bottle occasionally. Pass through a filtering paper and it is ready for 
use. 




CHAPTER XXVI 



THE MOUTH AND TEETH — Continued 




Bid them wash their faces 

And keep their teeth clean.— Coriolanus. 

BSOLUTELY cleaii teeth never decay. Crevices 
or imperfections in the enamel at any 
point, and crowded teeth where food finds 
lodgment between, are the first to show evi- 
dences of decay. 

Food ferments in a few hours in these 
minute pockets and bacteria multiply assisted 
by conditions of warmth and moisture. Lactic acid is the 
biproduct that these minute germs form and it soon dis- 
solves out the lime salts from the enamel and dentine 
under the enamel, thus leaving the hair like nerve fila- 
ments exposed to heat, cold, and irritating substances as 
sugar, acids, etc. 

The advanced dentist of to-day polishes away these 
rough surfaces and if the crevices be too deep to be 

(231) 



232 HARRIET HUBBARD AYER 

polished out of the enamel they should be filled before 
decay has begun. 

Preventive measures are employed first, to destroy germs 
in minute crevices and cavities prepared for filling and 
second, to harden the tooth structure beneath the enamel 
(dentine) to prevent further decay. 

This is accomplished by drying the teeth thoroughly 
after applying thin sheets of rubber around the teeth to 
protect the gum, and then saturating the cavity and all 
crevices with formalin. This is a powerful germicide and 
yet is harmless in that it may be applied to the tongue 
without the slightest injury. It has the property of hard- 
ening the tooth structure under the enamel. This quality 
prevents decay positively. In proof of this it may be said 
that a bullock's eye placed in a solution of formalin will 
be so chemicalized by it that bacteria (germs) of any kind 
will not multiply on its surface for weeks after its re- 
moval from the solution, although the eye is of a gelat- 
inous consistency and readily decomposes if not placed in 
this solution. 



Crowded Teeth 

Irregularities of the teeth that cause decay may be 
corrected in two ways. First, by the extraction of as 
many teeth as may be necessary to bring about an even 
condition, but a definite diagnosis of what any individual 
case may require is only arrived at by the intelligent 
diagnosis of a specialist in this branch of dentistry, in 
consultation with the dentist in charge. 



THE MOUTH AND TEETH 233 

Second: A crowded condition may be overcome by 
simply removing or polishing away between the teeth, re- 
moving enough to allow the teeth to be made even and 
healthy by drawing them in position by fine silk threads 
or other appliances. 

This applies particularly to adult teeth that may be 
corrected more easily and in less time than in youth. It 
is not generally known, but a fact that adult teeth may 
be more easily corrected than children's teeth, for the 
reason that the teeth are fully erupted and it is but nec- 
essary to move them forward or backward to bring them 
in alignment. 

Stained and discolored teeth may be bleached to their 
natural color by means of twenty-five per cent, pyrozone, 
in the hands of an intelligent practitioner, who applies 
the rubber dam to protect the gum. Dark teeth or yellow 
teeth may be made a shade or two lighter by this appli- 
cation, properly applied. Teeth stained with iron, causing 
dark margins, can also be brought back to their natural 
color. This preparation is absolutely harmless, as any 
graduate of dentistry will tell you, and simply removes 
the stain without in the slightest degree injuring the 
enamel. 

Misshapen, worn teeth, teeth too long, too short, or too 
large can all be corrected by slightly changing the shapes 
with very fine stones. In a degree the teeth may be 
sculped, so to speak, into pleasing shapes and correct lines 
without the slightest injury and with positive benefit. 
Indeed, it is a hygienic measure that is being taken 
advantage of by the advanced practitioners of this day 



234 HARRIET HUBBARD AYER 

to prevent decay of the teeth. The enamel surfaces are 
polished, and it is a proved fact, established beyond the 
question of a doubt, that clean, smooth surfaces do not 
lodge bacteria and, therefore, cannot and do not decay. 
It is a mistaken idea that the enamel of the teeth is ex- 
tremely thin. As a matter of fact, it is very thick, par- 
ticularly at the point and sides, where the greatest strength 
is required. 

It forms a thimble, covering the dentine or bony por- 
tion of the tooth from the cutting edge to the gum mar- 
gin, and no injury can arise from removing a portion of 
it, if that surface, be ground with fine stones and highly 
polished afterwards. Absolutely clean teeth do not decay. 

Porcelain Inlays 

■% 

Advanced practitioners of to-day avoid the display of 

gold. Modern porcelains, lately developed in Germany, are 

so perfect that enamel inlays may be set in almost any 

cavity where it may be seen in talking or laughing, the 

color and union so perfect that when moist it cannot be 

traced. Gold filling, be it ever so perfect, is unsightly and 

will not be countenanced in the front teeth by people of 

refinement when they know that this may be replaced, in 

the majority of cases, by carefully fitted enamel inlays. 

Some cavities are so very small that this cannot be done, 

and indeed, in small cavities it is not necessary ; but in 

large cavities, where it is a pronounced disfigurement in 

an otherwise handsome set of teeth, it is very desirable 

that this change be made. I have seen corners of teeth 



THE MOUTH AND TEETH 235 

where large, unsightly gold fillings have been removed and 
replaced with porcelain with two pins and fitted to the 
tooth so perfectly that you simply could not find where 
the two were joined. Besides, it was stronger, less painful, 
and less tedious than the gold filling, and the nerve was 
not destroyed as would be necessary in crowning. 



Artificial Teeth 

Perfect artificial teeth that defy detection should com- 
bine natural color, lightness, strength, and correct lines. 

Looking at a perfect denture from the front the first 
six teeth should show slightly below the lip in ordinary 
conversation and the side teeth should set close to the 
gum in a straight line from the eye tooth back to the 
molars. In this way the teeth at the side are partially hid- 
den, and only the front teeth show. This entirely over- 
comes that condition where an imperfect plate shows so 
many teeth that it looks over full of teeth. Looking at a 
perfect plate, side view, when in the mouth, the teeth 
should follow the perfect lip, a cupid's bow or a double 
curve on each side of the center. In other words the four 
front teeth are a shade longer than the side and the molars 
curve up in the back to meet the lower teeth. 

The features are easily restored at the wing of the 
nose and just below the corners of the mouth by raising 
the porcelain gum at these points. 

Natural effects are only produced by an artist in this 
work. The six front teeth should be very slightly curved 
from the corners of the mouth forward to meet in the 



236 



HARRIET HUBBARD AYER 



center and should restore the upper lip slightly more than 
the lower. 

Twenty-year teeth in forty-year mouths, youthful im- 
mature types in color and shape should never be used for 
mature people whose natural teeth, be they ever so per- 
fect, will show worn places, slight abrasions, inequalities. 
Here again it will require an adept to copy nature as 
natural effects are not produced by manufacturers of arti- 
ficial teeth. It is done by the skillful dentist alone. 





CHAPTER XXVII 



THE MOUTH AND TEETH — Concluded 



Of such aspect 
That they'll not show their teeth in way of smile. 

— Merchant of Venice. 




".HERE is practically no limit to the wonders per- 
formed by the beauty culturist of to-day. 

Long ago we discovered methods by which 
wrinkles and furrows may be removed and a 
parchment skin be made fair and smooth, but 
a woman's teeth have been to the knowing 
ones a telltale of her age which a restored 
complexion only emphasized. 

More depends upon a woman's teeth, in determining 
good looks, than upon any other feature. The mouth that 
parts to exhibit decayed or discolored teeth destroys the 
claims of its possessor to beauty. 

A missing tooth is equally fatal to a woman's looks. 
Artificial teeth are best described as artificial. 

A.-13 (237) 



238 HARRIET HUBBARD AYER 

Tooth Implantation 

The most extraordinary feat in cosmetic dentistry is 
the implantation of a live tooth to fill the vacancy in the 
mouth of a subject desirous of artistically closing the gaps 
made by the extraction of decayed teeth years ago. 

This operation I myself was invited to witness, and 
watched with amazement and delight, knowing what it 
would mean to thousands of my readers if successful. 

It occurred some months back, and because it has been 
perfectly successful and also because of the marvelous 
improvement in the looks of the lady herself, I have 
with her kind permission secured photographs taken be- 
fore and after the implantation, which are here repro- 
duced to show just what tooth implantation is. 

I may add that at this operation a celebrated dentist 
from San Francisco and one from New Orleans were pres- 
ent, each having come expressly from these remote cities 
for the sole purpose of witnessing this feat in dentistry. 

The patient is a lady in the forties. The teeth she 
wished replaced had been extracted for over two years. 

The dentist secured two natural teeth of the same 
color — for there is a great difference in the shades of 
teeth as well as in their form. These teeth were ob- 
tained from a dentist who makes a specialty of extracting. 

Despite the advances in dentistry and the protests of 
dentists, there are each day in the year many sound teeth 
extracted in New York city. 

It is by no means uncommon for a man or woman 
who has had to endure the pangs of toothache to de- 




MRS. X. BEFORE IMPLANTATION OF TEETH 




MRS. X. AFTER IMPLANTATION OF TEETH 



(239) 




THE PERFECT MOUTH (PROFILE) 




(240) 



THE PERFECT MOUTH (FRONT VIEW) 



THE MOUTH AND TEETH 241 

termine once for all to have no more of that sort of 
anguish and to insist upon having every tooth extracted. 
Frequently crowded teeth also are eased by extracting. 

However the dentist secured them in this case, and had 
the natural teeth, which were shown to us, and were 
awaiting implantation in an antiseptic bath. 

The operation proper of implantation is neither a long 
nor a painful one. No ether or chloroform was used. 
After opening the gum, under cocaine, a new socket is cut 
into the bony process with bone drills and without pain, 
except in a slight degree. A natural tooth or root is set 
in the bony process, and around this root new bone forms. 
The gum heals around the tooth, and when the operation 
is properly done, under antiseptic precautions, it is a last- 
ing, serviceable tooth, as strong as any in the mouth. 

A small mature root is used, one that is firm and hard 
in texture. The tooth is sterilized in solutions and when 
placed in the socket is surrounded by bone. It is held in 
place by fine silk threads, and becomes firm in from thirty 
to forty days. The operation has been indifferently done 
for many years, and many of the failures can be traced 
to the insertion of too large roots that were not com- 
pletely surrounded by bone. 

There are so many details in the operation that can 
only be explained by a specialist that I shall not go into 
it minutely, further than to say that the operation applies 
to single spaces where one or two teeth have been lost, 
and where there are enough teeth remaining to ligate the 
implanted teeth in position. There are three operations 
of this description. 



242 HARRIET HUBBARD AYER 

Replantation of the natural teeth may be described as 
an operation wherein a tooth extracted is replaced in the 
same socket. 

Transplantation is the insertion of a natural tooth from 
some other person in a socket from which the root has 
been recently extracted. 

Implantation, the operation I assisted at, is new rela- 
tively and was first performed about twelve years ago. It 
matters not how long the tooth may have been out that 
is planted, or how long the socket has been* closed. It is 
opened by the surgeon and a full natural tooth placed in 
its home. It is received kindly and heals quickly. 

The pictures show the condition of the gum before 
operating. The teeth had been extracted, leaving these 
spaces for more than two years. The gum was opened 
and natural hard teeth set in. In thirty days a com- 
plete and firm attachment was formed, and now the pa- 
tient enjoys the comfort of a perfect set of natural teeth. 

She is unable to distinguish the implanted teeth by 
any peculiar sensation, and declares they feel precisely 
like all the others. 

The dentist who performed this remarkable operation 
tells me that front teeth that have dropped out may 
sometimes be successfully replanted and that he has fre- 
quently removed a loosened tooth, treated it, and replanted 
it successfally. 






CHAPTER XXVIII 
ARMS, SHOULDERS, NECK AND BUST 

In her bosom I'll unclasp my heart and take her hearing prisoner. — Shakespeare^ 

HAVE not much patience with the mothers of skinny, 
leathery, and bony-armed daughters, and in this, 
the triumphal hour of physical culture, we do not 
see many all-bone arms. The fashionable woman 
is in danger of the other extreme and of develop- 
ing the lumpy arm, which may indicate an em- 
bryonic Sandow for actual physical strength, but 
which, from an aesthetic point of view, is what Carlyle 
would call '^most unbeautiful." 

I recently saw at an evening function "a new woman," 
to use the accepted phrase. She was a well-known so- 
ciety girl about twenty-four; she ^'went in" as she ex- 
pressed it, "for athletics, don't you know." She wore a 
low, white silk gown, her face was freckled and weather- 
beaten, with a distinct collar mark about the throat, above 
which the skin was certainly four shades darker than 
below it. Her arms were bare also, and the muscles were 

(243) 



244 HARRIET HUBBARD AYER 

SO developed that they appeared in lumpy protuberances 
just as those of the professional athlete are wont to do. 
I could not find the young lady in question attractive. 
She had overdone it, as we Americans are apt to do. A 
very well-known young man of fashion, in speaking of 
this maiden, said : " She's an awfully good fellow, don't 
you know; but one rather wishes she were not so dingy 
looking about the face, and that throat really needs to go 
to the place where you send your togs to get cleaned, 
don't you see." 

" Twixt two extremes the golden mean" is a good 
motto for the enthusiast of either sex. Let us not abuse 
the freedom which the evolution of the new woman has 
accorded us. Personal beauty is impossible without good 
health, to be sure, and health means the bountiful enjoy- 
ment of fresh air and the rightful exercise of all our 
muscles, but it does not mean the destruction of all the 
delicacy and beauty of texture of a woman's skin, nor the 
fostering of lumps of muscle for the round and enchant- 
ing gentle curves of perfect feminine beauty. A beautiful 
arm should be round, soft, smooth, white, and plump, not 
fat. It should taper gently to the hand with an adorable 
little curve at the small delicate wrist. Many young girls 
have developed just such a beautiful arm from a very 
meager, skinny beginning. I have made innumerable 
pretty arms from very scant material. Here is the 
method : — 

First of all, exercise. Calisthenics is derived from two 
Greek words, meaning '^ beautiful " and " strength " and cal- 
isthenics we must have as our first step. Exercise, never 



ARMS, SHOULDERS, NECK AND BUST 245 

enough to over fatigue, walking in the open air, horse- 
back riding, tennis, any of the ordinary methods of phys- 
ical culture, with a care not to overdo. This will develop 
the muscles, which are the plastic material of beauty. 
With the fresh air, those of you who are too thin should 
take the diet for increasing flesh, which was given in 
Catherine Lane's treatment. (See Appendix A.) A month 
of this regimen will work a marked improvement in the 
contour of the arm, but the open air exercise should be a 
part of your daily life at all times if you wish to keep 
your beauty. Now for the texture of the skin. When it 
is coarse and inclined to be rough and even pimply, scrub 
the arms with a camel's-hair, large-sized bath brush, as 
described in Chapter V. Every night when taking your 
evening bath just before retiring, and after thoroughly 
drying your arms apply the following lotion : — 

LOTION, GIANNINI 

Tincture of benzoin ... 1 fluid drachm 
Tincture of tolu ... 20 drops. 
Rose water 1 pint. 

When the arms are unusually thin, it will be well to 
try massage for them — not too violent — but gentle, deep 
massage. Let the operator rub the Skin Food, for which 
I have previously given formula (Chapter XXIIL) well 
into the skin during the treatment. 

In the course of a month, the rough skin sometimes 
called goose flesh will have disappeared ; you naay then 
use the following lotion to make the arms white and 
pretty : — 



246 HARRIET HUBBARD AYER 

LOTION FOR WHITENING THE ARMS 

Pure glycerine 1 ounce. 

Hydrochloric acid, specific grav. 1 16 . 1 Imp. fluid drachm. 

Rose water 2 fluid ounces. 

Bichloride of mercury (crystals) ... 6 grains. 

Distilled water 4 ounces. 

Alcohol 2 ounces. 

Dissolve the bichloride of mercury in the alcohol, then add the 
other ingredients. Keep in a tightly-stoppered bottle away from the 
reach of children. This is a well-known pharmaceutical preparation, 
highly indorsed, but is intended for external use only. 

Girls with uncomely arms, disfigured by redness or 
blotches, may improve their appearance very much by 
the following lotion : — 

Powdered borax ... 3 drachms. 



Glyc 



erine £ ounce. 



Elder flower water . . 12 ounces. 
This lotion is fragrant as well as eflBcacious. 

Superfluous hair on the arms is to be deplored, but it 
is certainly not such an affliction as on the face. Do not 
be led into the belief that the scrubbing brush will in- 
crease the growth of hair on either your face or arms. 
The contrary effect is produced by the brush which rids 
the pores of the skin of the greasy secretions which are 
the life and luxuriance of the undesired hair. 

Frequently, by the use of a good, pure soap and a brush 
alone, the hair on the arms will disappear, and I know 
of nothing except the regulation depilatory for taking off 
the hair immediately. I should never recommend it ex- 
cept in very extreme cases. 



ARMS, SHOULDERS, NECK AND BUST 247 

Once in a while one happens to meet a poor girl who 
cannot bare her arms because of a growth of thick, black, 
stiff, wiry hairs. No one can blame her for wanting it off 
at once. All depilatories should be carefully used. The 
following is effective for the arms and may be applied to 
the skin. Operate upon a small space at each application: — 

DELCROIX'S POUDRE SUBTILE 

Orpiment 1 ounce. 

Quicklime 10 ounces. 

Starch 13 ounces. 

Reduce each ingredient to a fine powder, mix and keep the mixture 
in a closely-stoppered bottle. When you wish to use the depilatory, 
take a little from the bottle and add a drop or two of warm water, 
barely enough to make a paste. Now apply to the hairy skin. As 
soon as the paste dries, or even sooner, if much smarting occur, wash 
it off and the hair will come off at the same time. If the skin seem 
inflamed, use a little cold cream or ointment to allay the burning. 

The rough skin which appears on the upper forearm 
can be made smooth by scrubbing and using a pumice as 
well as ordinary pure toilet soap. This treatment may 
cause a slight superficial irritation, but it will not last long, 
and the following or any of the healing lotions heretofore 
advised will allay the effect of the rather heroic treatment. 

LOTION FOR SLIGHT SKIN IRRITATION 

Pulverized borax 6 drachms. 

Pure glycerine £ ounce. 

Orange flower water ... 12 ounces. 
Mix and bottle. 

This is a delightful wash for any slight skin affections, 
and may be used with most soothing effect for children 
when sun or wind burned. 



248 HARRIET HUBBARD AYER 

Vaccination scars upon the arms are not beautifying, 
but I cannot indorse the much-vaunted method of remov- 
ing them by surgery. They are less unsightly than a scar 
from an abscess or sore, because the association is quite 
different. Of course it goes without saying that all little 
girls nowadays are vaccinated upon the leg. 

Nothing but exercise of the arm muscles will prevent 
the arm of womankind from growing soft underneath near 
the shoulder, and exercise alone will harden it once it has 
become flaccid. The condition is one which betokens 
years, but it can be defied. The first four of the dumb-bell 
exercises and Indian clubs are excellent for developing the 
relaxed muscles. (See Chapter XXXYI.) Use also the fol- 
lowing astringent wash daily : — 

ASTRINGENT LOTION 

Pulverized alum 1^ drachms. 

Distilled water 1 pint. 

Glycerine .1 ounce. 

Rose water 4 ounces. 

Deep, brisk massage will ako aid in developing relaxed 
muscles. The neck and throat are more beautiful in 
woman from her early prime to her ripe maturity ; that 
is to say, the girlish beauty of a youthful neck is not so 
much in the lines, which are usually a little sharp, but in 
the general air of innocence and sweetness, and also of 
delicacy, which is ever associated with the slender white 
column of the virginal throat and dainty shoulders. It is 
the full-blown woman of thirty who is eblouissante when 
the splendor of her neck and bust are revealed. It is a 
mistake to consider either the elongated, crane-like neck 



ARMS, SHOULDERS, NECK AND BUST 249 

or the short, stocky throat which resembles the frustum 
of a cone, as the model of beauty. The neck is properly 
the column of the head and when quite symmetrical 
should be a little wider at the base and at the top with 
the gentlest of inward slopes toward the middle. It is a 
curious fact that so many women learn to use their feet 
and hands gracefully and expressively, and never seem to 
consider that the neck is most eloquent in its gestures. 
We are too many of us stiff-necked or wabbly-necked or 
we crane our necks. Very, very few are the graceful- 
necked women of our times. 

Every woman dreads to see the muscles relaxing under 
her chin, and the first signs of age are those that come 
with the flabby throat which follows this condition of 
the muscles. 

Mme. Marchesi, the famous teacher of singing, is over 
seventy years of age, and her throat is as white and firm 
as that of a young girl. 

The writers declare that they cannot tell how she has 
preserved this beautiful throat. 

There is really no secret about it. All great singers 
have maintained the firmness and beauty of their throats 
because of the exercises the muscles get from vocaliza- 
tion. For this reason, women with thin, scrawny throats 
and contracted chests, should take voice culture. 

Mme. Lehmann, who acknowledges to her fiftieth birth- 
day, is a living proof of the effects of exercising the vocal 
cords. 

Mme. Lehmann's throat is that of a woman of twenty- 
five — beautiful, firm, white and symmetrical. 



250 HARRIET HUBBARD AYER 

In London some years ago I heard an Englishman say 
that he used to willingly pay his two guineas for a seat 
at the opera where he could watch Lady Randolph 
Churchill's graceful neck and head. I cannot teach you 
from this distance how to hold your heads, but you have 
the great artistes Sara Bernhardt, and Emma Eames 
for models of the nineteenth century and the Greek 
statues for the standard of antique beauty. It is an 
undoubted truth that the neck and throat of a high- 
bred woman are incomparably more beautiful than in the 
woman of lower origin. Blood will tell ; there is no dis- 
puting it. 

The shoulders of perfect loveliness should be neither 
wide nor meanly contracted, but of medium width and 
should droop or flow into the arms in a graceful undulat- 
ing curve. Square shoulders are not pretty, nor are they 
womanly. Of late years, the metal trimmings about the 
necks of our bodices have often resulted in dark, some- 
times almost black stains around the throat. Soap and 
water will have little or no effect upon such discolora- 
tions, but I have not failed to remove them by a wash 
composed of a weak dilution of hydrochloric acid — about 
one fluid ounce of the acid to nineteen of the water. 
The two circles or rings around the throat which fre- 
quently mark the thirty-fifth year, particularly of a plump 
beauty, may be lightened or sometimes removed by wear- 
ing looser neck bands and by gentle but frequent manip- 
ulations. The present choking style of neck arrangements 
is ruinous to the beauty of the throat, which should have 
unrestricted liberty. 



ARMS, SHOULDERS, NECK AND BUST 



251 



During the season of sea bathing the neck and throat 
are very likely to become brown or yellow through expo- 
sure to the sun. They may be beautifully whitened by 
the application of the following paste : — 

Honey, one ounce; lemon juice, one teaspoonful ; oil of bitter al- 
monds, six drops ; the whites of two eggs and enough fine oatmeal 
to make a smooth paste. 




o§/ o^<is 




yieis^ 




CHAPTER xxi:;^ 

ARMS, SHOULDERS, NECK AND BUST — Concluded 

Cleanse the stuffed bosom of that perilous stuff. — Macbeth. 

OME of my readers will perhaps recall the padded 
busts of twenty-five years back. I remember 
quite well that no woman was considered of 
fine figure about the time of the reign of the 
Grecian bend and tilters without a correspond- 
ingly abnormal development of bust. I have a 
cousin who rejoiced in a waist measurement of 
eighteen inches, a bust which called for forty-four inches 
room, and when this young lady honored my mother's 
home with her magnificent presence, waist, bust, Grecian 
bend, tilting skirts and high-heeled French shoes, I was 
the most humble of her adorers and used to pray heaven 
that some day, some wondrous, beautiful day, it might be 
my fortune to resemble her. 

It seems scarcely necessary to say a warning word 
concerning pads, for no dressmaker of renown will at pres- 
ent countenance them. They are responsible for many 

(252) 



ARMS, SHOULDERS, NECK AND BUST 253 

diseased and broken down women and 1 think, despite our 
exaggerated and ridiculous fin de siecle fashions of the 
present time, we have much to be thankful for in the ex- 
tirpation of false busts, palpitators and kindred consump- 
tion breeders. 

We no longer delight in forty-four inch busts, but we 
were not much less absurd in our recent shoulder mon- 
strosities. Modern fashion decrees that the average meas- 
urements of a finely formed woman in perfect health 
should be : Circumference at the level of the nipple, 32 
inches; from nipple to nipple, one-fourth of the circumfer- 
ence or 8 inches ; waist measure from 28 to 29 inches. 

The best method for developing the bust is vocal cul- 
ture combined with massage and frequent ablutions. I 
beg particularly to warn women against the use of the 
glass cup for the development of the breasts, as I have 
personally seen several serious glandular swellings and 
abscesses produced from its use. For decreasing a too 
abundant — or as the French term a too fleshy breast — 
Monin authorizes the following, which is called the ''Kisch 
Treatment." First the breasts are to be anointed with the 
following : — 

Pure deodorized iodoform ... 1 part. 

Vaseline 2 parts. . 

Essence of peppermint . . . .11 drops. 

Then cover the breasts with hot linen cloths dipped in the follow- 
ing lotion : — 

Pulverized alum 1 part. 

Acetate of lead 15 parts. 

Distilled water . . . . . . .20 drops. 

Over the cloths lay oiled paper and leave the whole on from ten 
to twelve hours. This treatment should be continued for several weeks. 



254 HARRIET HUBBARD AYER 

Where the bust development is very small, and there 
is no ravaging disease, it can be increased by exercise, 
vocal culture and bathing in warm water. The unguent 
used for massage should be of a tissue-feeding nature. 
Many such formulas have been given elsewhere. 

Decrease in the space between the tips of the breast is 
a very bad indication, — it too often means consumption 
of the lungs. In such cases, many a life may yet be saved 
by the inhalation of compressed oxygen gas. A special 
compound is now prepared for such patients, and most 
wonderful are the effects. The almost immediate chest 
expansion produced by the inhalation of compressed oxy- 
gen will be attested by every physician. 

TO MAKE THE BUST FIRM 

Orange flower water 1 pint. 

Distilled water 4 ounces. 

Tincture of myrrh ^ ounce. 

Tincture of benzoin ^ ounce. 

Tincture of quillaya ^ ounce. 

Essence of bergamot 1 drachm. 

Almond milk 1 ounce. 

Rectified alcohol 1 ounce. 

Essence of pink 1 drachm. 

Powdered alum 90 grains. 

Linen Collars and Pretty Necks 

Every girl and woman has thanked her lucky stars for 
the shirt waist within the past few years, and indeed, 
there is no one garment that deserves so much commen- 
dation at our hands. 



ARMS, SHOULDERS, NECK AND BUST 255 

I am the last person in the world to abuse the crisp 
shirt waist, but I am bound to say that the high, stiff 
collar, without which it is incomplete, is very destructive 
to pretty throats. 

A shirt-waist girl, after an acquaintance of, say six 
months, with the high, stiff, linen collar, will be very apt 
to discover a number of small parallel lines forming just 
under the chin. These are not the lines which are called 
the Venus bracelet by the French, and with the circle 
about the throat of plump women, making their appearance 
about the thirty-fifth year. They have nothing to do 
with the lines of age, which are accompanied by the 
flabby, loose, double chin of many women in the sixties, 
although they do resemble faintly the claw-like furrows 
of the veteran. 

The lines of age are caused by flaccidity and weakness 
of the muscles as well as by an attenuation and absorp- 
tion of fat. 

Collar lines betoken a rigidity of the muscles which 
have been constantly exerted and exercised in the involun^ 
tary effort to accommodate the neck to the fashionable 
style of dressing. 

I should be very glad, were I able, to suggest a remedy 
for these unfortunate and beauty-destroying creases in 
fair throats, but 1 do not honestly think there is any 
way of preventing the formation of such lines if the 
subject continue to wear the stiff, high collar for hours 
daily. 

To be sure, these blemishes are not in evidence except 
when the wearer of the collar changes her style of dress- 

A.— 14 



256 HARRIET HUBBARD AYER 

ing and assumes a low-cut gown. Then she will certainly 
be at a disadvantage when compared to the girl who has 
never yielded to the fashion of encircling the throat with 
a bit of starched linen which holds it as though it were 
in a vise. 

On the other hand, the high-collared girl has the satis- 
faction of knowing that she is the triggest, trimmest and 
crispest of up-to-date maids, every day of her life. 

Many readers will like to know if massage would not 
counteract the effects of the stiff collar. Massage, with 
the rotary motion, accompanied by frequent ablutions in 
hot water, will possibly have a slightly retarding effect, 
but I do not think that fifteen minutes of massage daily 
will do very much in the matter where the muscles 
are stretched for eight or ten hours of each day — con- 
tinuously stretched so that they form the objectionable 
lines. 

Many women have written me also asking about the 
discoloration of the skin which comes under the collar, 
and which is unquestionably causfed by it. There are two 
reasons for this discoloration. The close-fitting collar 
keeps the air from the throat, impeding ventilation, and 
restricting circulation somewhat. The result of this re- 
straint is soon noticeable in the change of texture and 
color of the. skin, which becomes yellow and distinctly 
thicker than the cuticle either above or below the collar 
lines. Sometimes, but rarely, the skin will be affected by 
a certain starch which is used in some laundries, and 
which is very detrimental in its results. The following 
formula is an excellent one for removing the yellow 



ARMS, SHOULDERS, NECK AND BUST 257 

stains caused either by stricture of the linen or the 
starch : — 

Bichloride of mercury .... 12 grains. 
Distilled witch hazel .... 2 ounces. 
Rose water 2 ounces. 

Apply with a small sponge to the yellow surface once a day. 

It must be recollected that bichloride of mercury is a 
dangerous jpoiso7i, and while perfectly proper to use as an 
external lotion, as here advised, should be kept out of 
the reach of children and ignorant persons. 

Premature Double Chin 

The best treatment for the double chin, as well as for 
the premature lines caused by high neck dressing would 
consist of abolishing the stocks and collars that have 
caused the trouble, but I do not expect miracles. 

The neck movements here illustrated if practiced daily 
for ten or fifteen minutes will serve to undo in part the 
injury created by high collars. 

In practicing the movements illustrated, the subject 
should wear a loose gown entirely free at the throat, and 
should have fresh air. 





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CHAPTER XXX 



THE PERFECT WOMAN 



All her perfections challenge soyereignty . — Henry IV. 

ET out your tape measures. If you are symmet- 
rically formed you will find out by first ac- 
curately measuring your nose. The height of 
your head should be just four times the length 
of your nose. This is a little rough on pugs 
and turned-ups, but it is true art and if you are 
a Venus you will correspond to these rules. If 

you are not, you are fortunate in living at a time when 

defects of physique are remedied by natural and wholesome 

methods. 

Your height should be eight times the length of your 

head, and you should divide up like this : — 




HEIGHT 

1 Head — From crown of head to bottom of chin. 

Bottom of chin to top of gternum or breastbone. 



^ Head 



(258) 




THE HARMONIC POISE 



(259) 




DIAGRAM OF NORMAL FIGURE 

THE LEGS OF THE PERFECT WOMAN SHOULD MEET AT FOUR POINTS 



(260) 



THE PERFECT WOMAN 261 



^ Head — Top of sternum to bottom. 
1 Head — Bottom of sternum to just above the navel. 
1 Head — From just above navel to fork or beginning of lower 

limbs. 
1 Head — From fork to middle of thigh. 

(Note) Middle finger reaches just to middle of thigh. 
1 Head — Middle of thigh to top of knee. 
^ Head — Top of knee to bottom of knee. 
14 Heads — Bottom of knee to small of ankle. 
^ Head — Small of ankle to sole of feet. 
Total — 8 heads. 
(Note) The American woman averages 7^ heads. 

WIDTH 

Neck \ head. 

Across chest to setting on of shoulders IJ heads. 

Across shoulders 1^ heads. 

(Note) This forms an equilateral trian- 
gle with the navel. 

Chest between arms 1^ heads. 

Waist 1^ heads. 

Hips . . . . o 2 heads. 

Thigh .... j head. 

Hand £ head, ^. e., size 

of face. 

Top of knee \ head. 

Bottom of knee . \ head. 

Calf 2^ noses. 

Small of ankle 1 nose or quarter of 

head. 

A celebrated German writer has recently given the fol- 
lowing requirements of the perfect woman. I reprint them 
that my readers may know in how many particulars they 
can conform to the laws laid down, and that perhaps they 
may see some way to develop more of these beauties 
in their daughters. 



! 



262 



HARRIET HUBBARD AYER 



Good Points. 


Bad Points. 


Slender, fine bones. 


Heavy, thick bones. 


Round limbs. 


Angular limbs. 


Full breasts. 


Flat breasts. 


Broad pelvis. 


Small pelvis. 


Luxuriant, long hair. 


Thin, short hair. 


Smooth lips. 


A moustache. 


Thin, soft skin. ^ 


Thick, hard skin. 


Round skull. 


Angular skull. 


Small face. 


Large face. 


Large, deep eye sockets- 


Small eye sockets. 


High, small eyebrows. 


Lowering, bushy eyebrows. 


Narrow hand with long index fin- 


Plump wrist. 


ger. 


Broad hand with long ring finger. 


Rounded shoulders. 


Bony shoulders. 


Straight, small collar bone. 


Curved, thick collar bone. 


Hollows over the loins. 


Even over the loins. 


Round, thick upper thigh. 


Thin, flat thigh. 


Rounded calf. 


Thin calf, and angular. 


Slender ankle. 


Heavy ankle. 


Thin foot with thin toes. 


Plump, fat foot with broad toes. 


Second toe long, fifth toe short. 


Great toe longest, fifth toe pro- 




longed. 



These secondary characteristics dependent largely upon 
disease, clothing and food, are noteworthy: — 





Disproportion op Upper and Lower 


Symmetry of Uppee and Lower Body. 


Body. 


Normal weight. 


Too heavy or too light. 


Shining, elastic skin. 


Dull, hard skin. 


Even muscular development. 


Poor muscles. 


Slender joints. 


Thick, swollen joints. 


Well-formed upper lip. 


Prominent upper lip or too thick. 


Even, regular teeth. 


Projecting teeth. 


Slender, straight nose. 


Broad, pug, flat nose. 


Round chin with dimple. 


Sharp, or double chin. 


Flat, round stomach. 


Protruding stomach. 


Arched back. 


Flat back. 


Rounded elbows. 


Pointed elbows. 


Long, slender hand. 


Short, broad hand. 


Long second finger. 


Long fourth finger. 


Arched, long nails. 


Flat, short nails. 


Slender, long feet. 


Plump, broad foot. 


Straight great toe- 


Great toe turned inward. 


Longer second toe. 


Longer great toe. 



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THE PERFECT WOMAN 265 

This list is extremely interesting and valuable to any 
woman with an earnest desire to make the most of her- 
self. True there may be a few particulars in which she 
is past mending. Thick bones, an angular skull, and small 
eye sockets for instance are fixed factors in the problem 
and will admit of little or no change. Yet there remain 
so many important particulars such as the complexion, 
figure, hair, teeth, etc., in which we may improve ourselves 
that the "points" are worth insertion in the creed of the 
progressive woman for her own use and for the benefit 
of some growing girl in whom she may be interested. 
Few of us, indeed, can check off our charms, without a 
break, down the entire list. On the other hand there is 
no one of us who can not justly lay claim to a few of 
them — some, to many. Even if we are not so well en- 
dowed as could be desired, there is no reason for despair, 
not even for discouragement, for a woman may be remark- 
ably beautiful .and superlatively attractive without con- 
forming in a marked degree to the German standard or 
to any other. Women of pronounced loveliness may vary 
widely from a fixed standard and from each other, in 
proof of which it is only necessary to inspect the series 
of portraits here presented as '' National Types," also the 
famous beauties of the past and present who differ well- 
nigh as widely as do the flowers of the field. From 
Helen of Troy to the latest French beauty, Dortzal, they 
are flowers all, in God's field. Yet even their mere phys- 
ical beauty, enticing as it is, will not permanently avail 
in the absence of those better attributes of wholesome 
cleanliness in life and morals without which the flower 



266 



HARRIET HUBBARD AYER 



finally withers. Better indeed than beauty alone, is the 
possession of a few of the foregoing technical requisites 
supplemented by cleanliness, neatness, fastidiousness, care 
in matters of the toilet, combined with engaging manners 
and gentleness of disposition. These charms will make 
and keep a woman queen of her realm even though her 
reign exceed that of Queen Victoria. 








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CHAPTER XXXI 



THE CORSET 



The glass of fashion and the mould of torm. — Hamlet. 




^HE cultivated waist. That is what they call the 
twenty-four inch waist in England when it is 
compressed so that it may be girdled by an 
eighteen-inch leather belt. 

Cultivated forsooth! They may require coax- 
ing in merry England, but we do not need 
schooling in waist torture in this glad land. 
We want it understood that we take to squeezing our 
waists naturally. Ninety-nine girls out of one hundred, 
pass through the self-infliction, waist-squeezing period be- 
fore they have reached one and twenty — the age of re- 
sponsibility. 

Many of them continue to crowd and jam their in- 
ternal organs beyond the years allotted to ignorance and 
youth. Sometimes we have the pitiful spectacle of stout 

(269) 



270 HARRIET HUBBARD AYER 

old ladies girded into the tightest kind of quarters 
around the belt. 

Usually it is the very young thing and the married 
belle who affect the wasplike dimensions that are so 
unpleasant to contemplate, so excruciatingly painful to 
endure. 

The artistic standards of beauty require that the waist 
should be twice the size of the throat. Therefore, if 
one's throat measure twelve and one-half inches one's 
waist ought to measure twenty-five. 

The Venus de Medici, supposed to be a perfect tj^pe 
of feminine beauty, is only five feet two inches high. 
She has a waist of twenty-seven inches. The wasp waist 
is not only unpleasant to look at, but it is account- 
able for many of the ailments of women, which result 
for life in impaired digestion, circulation, and respira- 
tion. 

No woman can have a good complexion where the 
vital organs are packed away inside a corset four or five 
inches too small for her. 

The woman who laces herself into the shape of an 
hour-glass presumably does so because she considers it 
enhances her beauty. Goodness knows why she considers 
it fascinating to resemble an insect of the wasp species, 
but obviously she does. 

I read somewhere that the tightly-laced woman always 
imagines herself peculiarly sylphlike and graceful. Well, 
why ? All we know about sylphs is obtained from read- 
ing about them, and from gazing at their alleged por- 
traits. I presume to say that I have seen all the noted 



THE CORSET 271 

pictures of the entire collection of sylphs. Certainly I 
have gazed at ladies of a very early vintage who were 
listed under the alluring guise of nymph, sylph, siren, 
goddess or Venus, and warranted the genuine article. But 
I cannot recall one — no, not even one sylph, not a single 
Venus, nor even a second-rate goddess, with an eighteen- 
inch belt measure. 

So it is manifestly absurd to compare the cultivated 
waist of our English cousins, which we have not copied, 
but taken to without aid or instruction from our elders 
across the sea, with the waist of poetry or canvas. 

I think, however, that the men are to blame for the 
revival of the wasp waist. For there is a revival in ac- 
tive effect this moment. The new figure came into fash- 
ion about a year ago. The corset that produced this 
so-called new form of womanhood claimed to be so con- 
structed that the wearer could reduce the size of the 
waist from three to six inches. 

Well, I am acquainted with men who should have 
known better, and who rave about the new figure. One 
male of my acquaintance told me recently that a certain 
woman who immediately adopted the corset warranted to 
compress your figure,' has a perfect figure, and then he 
described it : — 

'' Such an exquisite figure," he said. " She has a waist 
you can span with your hands and magnificent shoulders, 
broad enough for a man." Five minutes later he was 
declaring that *' women nowadays were a broken-down 
lot of nervous, hysterical creatures who should be forced 
to go into hospitals and rest cures so as to relieve the 



272 HARRIET HUBBARD AYER 

well members of society in general from the strain of 
sympathizing with, and caring for them." 

I was tempted to ask why this all-wise person did not 
reflect a little on the law of cause and effect. 

The truth is, that a slender, trim waist is pretty, and 
that a squeezed waist is not. Now, there are ways of at- 
taining a slender waist — healthful, wholesome ways. Such 
a waist will, to use the slang of the period, be the real 
thing, while the squeezed waist will always be a deformity. 

Nothing sooner destroys a woman's freshness and the 
flesh-and-blood beauty of womanhood, than diseased and 
disordered nerves. There never was an agent conceived 
so diabolical in its effects upon the nervous system, as 
the corset that ingeniously deprives a woman of the 
proper functioning of every vital organ of her body. 

I am no advocate of so-called dress reform, which is 
usually merely the fad of a man or woman who has be- 
come a crank over some supposed discovery of rational 
dress. 

There has been a great deal of nonsense, written and 
spoken, for and against the corset. This being a free 
country, there is no reason why women who prefer to go 
about without stays, whether from physical reasons or 
moral convictions in the matter, should not be allowed 
to follow their own sweet inclinations. 

Personally, I consider a well-fitting, properly constructed 
corset a blessing. I have experimented with substitutes, 
claiming to be aesthetic, hygienic, and elevating morally, 
and I have suffered, been made hideous to look upon, and 
certainly have not been improved in temper as a result. 




(273) 




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THE CORSET 275 

There are, of course, some slight, willowy women who 
can do without the support of a corset. They are the 
very, very rare exceptions. 

Take for example Mrs. Leslie Carter as one of them. 
Mrs. Carter wears a little girdle about her waist, which is 
all she requires, her figure being naturally slender, and 
the physical culture which she has received in her years 
of hard training has given her extraordinary litheness and 
poise. 

But the average woman has neither Mrs. Carter's figure 
nor has she had the benefit of long, persistent and har- 
monious physical training. 

This everyday woman requires a corset. 

To show what corsets will do for a woman's figure, I 
induced a lady not long ago who was, by the by, wearing 
a most hideous corset herself, to have photographs taken 
with the object in view of demonstrating the effect of the 
corset as a factor in a woman's appearance. 

When my friend had the photograph taken (which is 
reproduced here and marked No. 1) she wore the corset 
of her own selection. Every woman who sees this picture 
will recognize the figure as one she knows very well. 

No. 2 shows the same lady with a proper and well- 
fitting corset. This corset, I may add, is not heavily 
boned, but it is cut so that the ugly curve at the waist 
is entirely suppressed, and the objectionable embonpoint, 
caused by the wretched form of the old corset, has disap- 
peared. 

No. 3 is a photograph of another subject in a French 
corset, which is intended to give a slimness to the figure. 



276 HARRIET HUBBARD AYER 

I do not think this corset adapted for any but very slight 
women, and I did not suggest it for my friend. The 
length upon the hips would not be comfortable for a 
woman of her size. 

I believe in a simple corset — not the corset coffin. The 
novel, boneless, ribbon corsets of Yvette Guilbert are all 
that are necessary to support the busts of slender women, 
young or old. Even stouter women look better in an 
easy-fitting corset that does not press the adipose tissue 
below or above its confines. 

The great mistake American women make is in buying 
corsets without trying them on and securing a proper fit. 

No French woman ever thinks of purchasing a corset 
from the counter. She tries her corset on, and she is 
never satisfied until she secures a stay that is not only 
comfortable, both for sitting and standing, but one that 
gives her figure graceful lines, while it allows her to 
breathe easily and to walk without the appearance of 
being hampered in any way. 

Be very certain, dear reader, that the hour-glass waist 
— or to use the descriptive term of the fashionable Lon- 
don modiste, the ^'cultivated waist," which is at present 
in vogue (to a limited extent only, I am glad to say), will 
mean disease and loss of beauty to the foolish women 
who follow a fashion which makes a travesty of the hu- 
man form. And recollect that unfortunately the harm 
done by tight lacing is often entailed upon a succeeding 
generation. 

Women, not afflicted with obesity, who regard their 
health are wearing corsets that are corsets in name only. 



THE CORSET 



271 



In reality they are only satin or taffeta girdles, boned; 
and laced in the back and over the hips. They come 
in black and white, and all the new shades of pink and 
yellow. 

In one of these girdles a slim figure appears to ad- 
vantage, but woe betide the buxom matron who attempts 
them. 





/ XJjLJ '^'4 ^CllBEE^T 9> 



CHAPTER XXXII 



THE HAND 



Her hand 
In -whose comparison all whites are ink, 

— Troilus and Cressida. 




•^HE artistic hand with its delicate, tapering fin- 
gers is like the poet " born not made," and 
every woman may not hope for this ideal 
" second face " as the hand has been cleverly 
called, but there are no hands pertaining to 
womankind really barred from a greater or 
less degree of beauty. Care and scrupulous 
cleanliness are soon repaid in the toilet of the hands. 
Even the housewife who must perforce on occasion do 
rough, manual work, is included in this statement. It is 
more or less true that it takes five generations to form 
an absolutely partician hand, but I do not agree with 
even so great a master as Balzac that ''persons of supe- 
rior intellect always have beautifully formed hands." 
" There is a beauty of the Sun and another beauty of the 

(278) 



THE HAND 279 

Moon,'^ I have seen intellectual men and women who 
had not beautiful hands, and empty-headed ladies and 
gentlemen who had. To all my readers who may be so 
fortunate as to have little children growing up about 
them, I beg to say a word as to the importance of the 
early and great care the little hands require. (See Chap- 
ter XLII.) Children form habits most destructive to the 
beauty of both hands and feet unless corrected. I have 
never been able to understand why we do not teach our 
children to be ambidextrous instead of early inculcating 
in them the practice which renders the left hand, com- 
pared to the right one, an almost useless member. Doubt- 
less a few generations ahead of us will appreciate the 
advantages of ambidextrousness, and it will then be the 
occasional person who will excite comment by being 
" right-handed." 

From birth, the tiny fingers should receive careful 
attention and the little nails should be cut in an oval 
form which will aid developing tapering points. It is 
ruinous to permit children to bite the nails ; the best 
remedy is to rub a little extract of quassia on the finger 
tips each time the hands are washed. The bitter taste 
is very unpleasant, but harmless, and the habit is soon 
broken, if the treatment be persistent. Many grown 
women, as well as children, are really afflicted with rough 
hands. Often this condition is produced from carelessness; 
sometimes however, the skin is extremely susceptible. In 
washing the hands, use a pure soap containing no free 
alkali^ and always rinse all the soap carefully and thor- 
oughly away. If soap be irritating, as it sometimes is, no 

A.— 15 



280 HARRIET HUBBARD AYER 

matter how delicate or pure, try the following paste 
called by the French "Amandine." It will be found deli- 
cious and very healing. 

AMANDINE 

Put in a large marble mortar two ounces of gum arable, and six 
ounces of white honey; triturate, and when the mixture has been rubbed 
into a thick paste, add three ounces of perfectly neutral almond shav- 
ing cream. Then continue the trituration until the mixture has be- 
come homogeneous. Two pounds of fresh, cold, pressed, sweet almond 
oil are next allowed to flow from a can above it into the mass; other- 
wise, if it enter in too large quantities, the blending is imperfect, 
and the amandine becomes oily instead of jelly-like and transparent, 
as it should be when the manipulation has been skillful. The per- 
fume consists of one -half drachm of attar of bitter almonds to every 
pound of paste. A little attar of roses may also be added. As soon 
as finished, it must be put into earthen jars and closely sealed. 

This is a delightful compound, but it is a little difficult 
to make without laboratory appliances. Unless you wish 
it for continuous use, it will be better to purchase it. Take 
care not to buy the dark-colored so-called "Amandine." It 
should be a pure, creamy-white paste. 

Almond meal has been in use for the toilet by French 
women for years. It came into vogue about a decade 
since in America, and is easily made at home. Proceed as 
follows : — 

ALMOND MEAL 

Almond powder 1 pound. 

Cuttlefish bone (powdered ) 5 ounces. 

Curd soap (air-dried, powdered) ... 2^ ounces. 

White castile soap, (air-dried, powdered) 2^ ounces. 

Orris root (in fine powder) 1^ ounces. 

Mix and pass the whole through a fine sieve. 



THE HAND 281 

Another excellent compound for whitening and soften- 
ing the hands is called '' Honey Paste." This requires no 
skill to make, and is delicate and efficacious : — 

HONEY PASTE 

Rub together one pound honej and the yolks of eight eggs; then 
gradually add sweet almond oil, 1 pound, during constant trituration, 
and work in bitter almonds, blanched and ground to meal, 8 ounces; 
finally perfume with attars of bergamot and cloves, each 2 drachms. 

Chapped hands are common to persons with poorly cir- 
culating blood, or to women who are obliged to frequently 
immerse their hands in either cold or hot water. Many 
suffer intensely from chapped hands during the summer 
months as well as in cold weather. In such cases, do not 
expose the hands to sharp winds nor to out-of-door cold 
without gloves. I do not approve of wearing gloves in- 
doors unless the hands are so badly chapped as to almost 
bleed; then anoint them with cold cream and cover them 
with gloves three sizes too large. It is a serious mistake 
to wear tight gloves on any occasion, but for chapped or 
rough hands, the gloves should be as loose as possible. 
Anything that impedes the circulation of the blood in the 
slightest is detrimental to the texture of the skin. It is 
not always agreeable to use cold cream. The lotion here 
given is a good substitute : — 

LOTION FOR CHAPPED OR ROUGH HANDS (VIGIER) 

Rose water 100 grammes. 

Glycerine 20 grammes. 

Tannin 50 centigrammes. 

Mix thoroughly. Moisten the hands with a few drops when re- 
quired. This formula is also excellent for chapped lips. 



282 . HARRIET HUBBARD AYER 

Occasionally some disturbance of the blood will pro- 
duce an intense itching of the hands. It may be at once 
allayed by the following wash highly recommended by 
Monin: — 

WASH FOR ITCHING OF THE HANDS 

Milk of almonds .... 500 grammes. 
Hydrate of chloral .... 4 grammes. 
Tincture of poppies ... 5 grammes. 

Apply a few drops to the parts affected. 

Twenty-five years ago, there were I think, but two pro- 
fessional manicures in this country, though in Europe the 
luxurious classes commonly employed them, and the Pari- 
sienne has always devoted much time and care to the 
beauty of her finger tips. About ten years ago, I took a 
course of manicure lessons in Paris from the niece of the 
original manicure, Sitts. This lady is now upward of 
seventy years of age, for she has been an ''artiste of the 
hand," to use her own words, for nearly half a century. 
Even in those days she was not over youthful, but she 
was coquettish to the last degree, and used to quite over- 
power me during my lessons, not only by her toilettes, 
which were extremely girlish, but by her easy and airy 
style of conversation. For example, she would always 
speak of H. R. H., the Prince of Wales, as " Ce cJier Pritice^^ 
— when I treat his nails I say to myself — "here at least is 
a hand worthy of a Sitts" — or "Madame must pardon me 
if I cannot give her a seance to-morrow. His Grace the 

Due of- attends a garden party at three. I shall be 

blamed indeed if his hands are not a credit to the house 
of Sitts." I used to return from my lesson feeling that I 



THE HAND 283 

had almost associated with royalty. In spite, however, of 
this element of the ridiculous, and also of the dear old 
lady's extreme snobbishness, I learned a great deal from 
her of the care of the finger nails, and I unlearned the 
greater part of the art of manicuring which I had acquired 
in America, and which in many may be better termed the 
art of ruining the finger nails and fingers. 

Manicuring was originated and developed by Monsieur 
Sitts, my old lady's uncle, who was King Louis Phillipe's 
pedicure. In taking care of the , royal feet, M. Sitts 
showed such skill that his Majesty one day asked him to 
remove an agnail from one of his fingers. Sitts performed 
this operation so cleverly that the royal client thereafter 
employed him, and the title "Manicure" was added to 
''Pedicure." Manicure means, as doubtless all my readers 
know, care of the hands ; pedicure, care of the feet. The 
Sitts method does away with cuticle knife and mineral 
acids for whitening the nails. It also substitutes an 
orange-wood stick sharpened for cleaning the nails instead 
of curved scissors, and a bit of chamois skin does duty for 
polishing, and is substituted for the buffer used in this 
country. The manicure set of the most fashionable and 
fastidious French woman therefore consists of : — 

2 clippers, one for cutting the nails of each hand. 

1 small parcel of orange-wood sticks. 

1 square of chamois skin. 

1 box of rose-colored ointment. 

1 box of nail powder. 

1 velvet file. 

This reduces the cost of manicure implements very 
much, and the most beautiful results are certainly obtained 



284 HARRIET HUBBARD AYER 

by the Sitts method. It is the common and pernicious 
practice in America to cut the selvage skin which borders 
the nail inside, and which is intended to protect it. The 
Sitts method totally condemns the use of steel either 
under the nail or around the lisiere (selvage). Mme. Sitts 
very logically says the smoothest of so-called nail cleaners 
made in steel is sharp enough to roughen the delicate 
under-surface. It then attracts the dust and foreign mat- 
ter because of this roughness, and more cleaning only 
makes it worse. Then acid is resorted to, and the texture 
of the nails is ruined. A properly pointed stick of orange 
wood, such as the dentists use for cleaning the teeth, is 
the only nail cleaner necessary. It removes dust and un- 
cleanliness, and does not scratch nor injure the enamel of 
the nail which is just as delicate as that of the teeth. 
Mme. Sitts also declares emphatically that the border or 
selvage around the nail is intended to protect it, and that 
in cutting it you make it ragged just as you would if you 
jagged the selvage of a bit of cloth. And, she adds, it 
would be just as sensible to cut the border of your eye- 
lids or your ears with the idea of making them even and 
smooth as the nails. Besides, the very touch of a steel 
instrument on the enamel surface is bound to scratch the 
nail and cause blemishes. I recollect with great clearness 
the way manicures have clipped and scraped and hacked 
my fingers in other days — often until they bled. Let this 
counsel, which comes from the fountain head of manicure 
art, be a word to the wise. 

The nails require the nail brush and soap at least once 
daily, and after washing the hands, while they are still 




SHAPE THE NAILS WITH A VELVET FILE 




USE CLIPPERS INSTEAD OF CURVED SCISSORS 



(285) 




SHOWING USE OF THE ORANGE-WOOD STICK IN MANICURING 




(286) 



POLISHING WITH THE BUFFER 



THE HAND 287 

soft from the action of the water, it is well to gently 
press the cuticle around the nail back toward the finger 
base. If this be done with care daily, the nail will assume 
a graceful, oval form, ending in the white crescent which 
is considered such a mark of beauty. 

This is one of the small personal duties which must 
be attended to religiously, for if neglected only a day or 
two, the skin will attach itself to the nail, and then it is 
apt to crack or break, leaving the edge as sore and un- 
sightly as though a fashionable manicure had ''treated" 
it, and treated it very badly, with sharp instruments. Use 
a little vinegar or lemon juice in place of other acids for 
removing discolorations. (See Chapter XXXI.) 

Excessive moistness or perspiration of the hands with- 
out apparent cause, is usually indicative of nervous debil- 
ity or some internal derangement. The following is a 
good local remedy : — 

REMEDY FOR PROFUSE PERSPIRATION OF THE HANDS 

(Edgerly) 

Cologne . 90 grammes. 

Tincture of belladonna ... 15 grammes. 

Mix thoroughly ; moisten the hands two or three times daily with 
the mixture. 

Chilblains are a most painful affliction. They are 
caused either by a scrofulous condition of the blood, or 
by sudden change of temperature from excessive cold to 
extreme heat. When they have once formed they are 
very difficult to be rid of. Many persons afflicted with 
chilblains suffer from them only in the winter time, but 
weak and aged subjects are frequently troubled in sum- 
mer also. The best treatment for chilblains is with local 



288 HARRIET HUBBARD AYER 

stimulants and counterirritants, among which the best are 
painting the parts twice a day with iodine, or bathing 
the chilblains with diluted hydrochloric acid just strong 
enough to slightly prick the skin. When the inflamed 
parts ulcerate, an excellent dressing is made of cold cream 
(formula already given) to which a few grains of tannic 
acid have been added. 

Glycerine jelly is an excellent preventive of chilblains 
where the hands are very sensitive. It is made thus: — 

GLYCERINE JELLY 

Pure glycerine 4 ounces. 

Enough gum tragacanth to thicken. 

Attar of roses 8 drops. 

Dissolve the gum in enough water to make a thick liquid. Stir 
into the glycerine. 

Strawberry cream is a delicate emollient for tender hands. 

Indigestion will make the hands red. If you take good 
care of them and have no trouble with the digestive or- 
gans, you will find wearing gloves two or three sizes too 
large for you, spread with a paste made as follows, will 
make the hands white again : — 

Oil of sweet almonds 2 teaspoonfuls. 

Glycerine 1 teaspoonful. 

Rice flower . 1 teaspoonful. 

Rose water 1 ounce. 

Tincture of benzoin .30 drops. 

Yolks of two fresh eggs. 

Pour the oil of sweet almonds .over the rice flower and stir; 
then add the yolks of eggs and glycerine; last of all, the rose 
water and benzoin. Rip the gloves open and spread the inside 
with this paste; then sew them up again. Wash your hands thor- 
oughly at night before putting on the gloves, which you should wear 
until morning, 




mm 



CHAPTER XXXIII 



THE HAND — Concluded 



I take thy hand, this hand, 
As soft as dove's down, and as white as it. 

— Winter's Tale. 




T IS not difficult to have soft, pretty hands. 

The great point is to keep them scrupulously 
clean and to pay attention to the nails, which re- 
^^ quire daily care, although they rarely receive it 
is^^ except by women of extreme leisure. 

When the hands are rough a skin-feeding oint- 
ment is required. One of the best for this purpose 
IS camphor cream, made as follows : — 

Spermaceti 2 ounces. 

White wax 2 ounces. 

Sweet almond oil 2 ounces. 

Melt the three ingredients together over a gentle fire and add one 
ounce of gum camphor in shavings. Take off fire when camphor is dis- 
solved. Stir until the mass concretes. Put into jars. Use at night 
freely, anointing the hands, which should first be thoroughly scrubbed 
>vith warm water and a pure soap. 

(289) 



290 HARRIET HUBBARD AYER 

The old-fashioned almond paste which our grandmoth- 
ers used for their dainty hands is excellent. Here is the 
formula : — 

White wax 1 ounce. 

Oil of sweet almonds ... 2 ounces. 
Attar of roses few drops. 

Melt the oil and wax together, add the perfume while the mixture 
is cooling, beating it meanwhile. 

Honey and almond paste, to be worn at night under 
gloves much too large, is a remedy for red hands famous a 
century ago. It is easily made, but should not be com- 
pounded in large quantities, as the eggs do not keep. 

HONEY AND ALMOND PASTE 

Almond meal 4 ounces. 

Oil of sweet almonds .... 8 ounces. 
Pure honey (strained) .... 8 ounces. 
Yolk of egg ^ ounce. 

Melt the honey separately, pour the almond meal into it and knead 
it together with the beaten yolk of egg. Add the oil and knead again 
until a paste is produced. 

This is a wonderful remedy for harsh hands. 

Horse-chestnut meal paste is a favorite remedy for 
rough hands in Continental Europe. 

It is prepared like the almond paste, substituting horse- 
chestnut meal for almond meal. 

A good lotion for whitening the hands is made as fol- 
lows : — 

Pulverized borax 3 drachms. 

Glycerine £ ounce. 

Elder flower water .... 12 ounces. 

Mix and apply several times a day if necessary. 



THE HAND 291 

When the hands appear to be constitutionally rough it 
is a good plan to wash them always in bran or oatmeal 
water. This water is made very easily. 

Take some fresh bran or good sweet oatmeal and boil it in water 
enough to make it a very thin gruel. Strain and use the liquid, a little 
more diluted, instead of fresh water whenever the hands are washed. 

These washes must be made fresh every second or third 
day, as they quickly turn sour. 

Use a portion of fresh cut lemon to remove stains from 
the nails or fingers. 

' A bit of pumice soap will take away callous spots. 

Cocoa cream cerate, which is sold at some shops at a 
very high price, is made thus: — 

Take of cocoa butter, oil of sweet almonds, and white wax, equal 
parts ; melt them together and stir until cool. 

TO WHITEN THE HANDS 

Lanolin 100 grammes. 

Paraffin (liquid) .... 25 grammes. 
Extract of vanilla. ... 10 drops. 
Oil of roses 1 drop. 

Mix and apply when necessary. 

It is well to recollect that stricture in any part of the 
body will frequently produce red hands. 

For example, tightly-laced corsets, a bodice too tight 
in the armholes, sleeves that bind either above or below 
the elbow. 

Even tight garters or tight shoes may produce red 
hands. 



292 HARRIET HUBBARD AYER 

In all but very exceptional cases, say one out of per- 
haps ten thousand, a woman's hands are easily kept white 
and pretty. 

To keep them white, frequent and thorough washing 
is necessary, using a scrubbing brush and a good soap, 
taking care to rinse the soap well out of the skin before 
drying the hands. 

To keep them soft almost any one of the formulas 
given above will suffice if used intelligently and persist- 
ently. 

How TO BE Your Own Manicure 

To take perfect care of the hands one requires a very 
few simple implements and five minutes' time six days in 
the week. A nail clipper should be used in the place of 
the curved scissors. The clippers never create agnails, 
commonly called hangnails. 

Never use a sharp instrument under the nails. An 
orange-wood stick carefully whittled to a smooth flat point 
should be used instead of a metal nail cleaner. 

Abjure the cuticle knife. It simply bruises and hacks 
the selvage around the nail, which should never be cut. 
Use a velvet file instead of one of the rougher kind. 

All liquid bleaches for whitening the nails are merely 
a diluted mineral acid of some powerful nature. They in- 
evitably thicken the nail, and render it opaque instead of 
transparent. 

Keep a bit of pumice stone on hand for removing 
roughness and ink spots. 



THE HAND 293 

After washing the hands, press the skin or selvage 
around the nail gently away from it, particularly at the 
base, so that the moon will show. 

The moons are really indications of physical strength, 
and are never seen on the fingers of the sick. 

The little white flecks on the nails indicate disturbed 
circulation or injury from the cuticle knife; no external 
application will cure them. 

Once a week is often enough for manicuring, which one 
may easily do for one's self. Operate upon one hand at a 
time as follows : — 

Cover the tips of the fingers with amandine; soak the 
hand for at least fifteen minutes in a bowl of warm 
water into which a little soap in powder has been cast. 
Dry the fingers carefully, pressing the selvage down all 
around. Use the clippers to cut with. A little prac- 
tice and you will secure a perfect pointed oval in 
form, and each nail will be the same length and con- 
tour. 

Remove all foreign matter from under the nail with 
an orange-wood stick. If there be stains or discolorations, 
take them off with the inside of a lemon. Apply a very 
little rose paste to the surface of the nail ; next dust them 
rather thickly with the nail powder, and polish with a bit 
of chamois skin or a nail buffer. Rub always across, never 
up and down. 

Rough, hard work will, of course, injure the appearance 
of the hands unless they are cared for. Almond meal is 
all that is necessary, in addition to the above advice, to 
keep them §oft^ white and pretty. 



294 HARRIET HUBBARD AYER 

Where there is undue moisture of the palms try the 
following lotion : — 

Cologne water 70 grammes. 

Tincture of belladonna . . 15 grammes. 

Amandine may be made at home, but it is very diflS- 
cult to prepare. It is cheaper in the end to purchase it 
at one of the department shops. 

Make nail powder as follows : — 

Silicon 8 ounces. 

Oxide of zinc 2 ounces. 

Pulverized pumice .... ^ ounce. 

Lake (00) enough to color pale rose. 

Mix in mortar and sift through fine sieve. 

A fine rose paste for the nails is made thus: — 

Spermaceti 1^ ounces. 

White wax 9 drachms. 

Oil of almonds 12 ounces. 

Alkanet root 2 ounces. 

Attar of roses 1 drachm. 

Melt the first four ingredients in a hot water bath. Strain, beat 
until nearly cold, then add attar of roses. 

Hints on the Hands 

Hands show the ravages of time more than any other 
part of the body. Between the ages of seventeen and 
eighteen they attain the maturity and beauty of symnietry, 
and if subjected to the most careful treatment will remain 
practically unchanged until thirty. At thirty an almost im- 
perceptible change begins and without constant attention 
their beauty wanes. The skin begins to wrinkle and grows 



THE HAND 295 

dry, and the joints lose their shape. The shrinking of the 
flesh displays the faults which the plumpness of youth had 
covered up. 

Neglect will hasten the aging of the hands, and care 
will work wonders. It behooves every woman to take 
special pains with them, as her hands are no small part 
of her personality. 

Young women with red hands seldom realize that the 
difficulty usually is caused by tight lacing. Wearing the 
corsets too tight has a tendency to interfere with the 
circulation, and red hands are the result. 

Great care should be taken of the nails. A lady can 
always be told by the condition of the tips of her fingers. 
The nails must never be bitten, the cuticle must not be 
ragged and the rims must be white, not black. A very 
little effort will keep the nails in good order. 

If the hands be rough rub them with a little cold 
cream before retiring. 

Don't wear tight gloves. They spoil the shape of the 
hands, and give them a puffy, unpleasant appearance. 

Women are very careless about drying their hands. 
They give them a splash and a promise and then wonder 
why they are rough. The hands should be very carefully 
dried — and a few drops of a good hand lotion rubbed in. 
They should not be exposed to the outside air for some 
time after they are washed. There is no better lotion 
than the following for everyday use : — 

Rose water 8 ounces. 

Pulverized borax . . . . . 1 ounce. 

Glycerine 1 ounce. 

Tincture benzoin 1 drachm. 



296 HARRIET HUBBARD AYER 

When the hands that come in contact with dirt and 
grease in the rough work of the household get what is 
called grimed, the average soap will have very little effect 
upon them. Before attempting to get these hands clean, 
it is better to thoroughly rub a good spoonful of vaseline 
into them ; then wash in warm water, using a pure soap 
and fairly stiff hand scrubbing brush. Rinse and dry care- 
fully. If this is not successful, repeat the process. 

A good hand whitener is made as follows: — 

Sweet and bitter almonds, blanched 

and pounded into a paste .... 250 grammes each. 

Lemon juice 60 grammes. 

Sweet milk 30 grammes. 

Sweet almond oil 90 grammes. 

Brandy 180 grammes. 

TO REMOVE WARTS 

The best way to have warts removed is by electricity. 
You can have them removed also by the use of an acid, 
or by using this mixture: — 

Chrysorobin 20 grains. 

Collodion . 1^ drachms. 

Apply with a camel's-hair pencil every day or two to the wart. 

White specks are frequently created by the misuse of 
the cuticle knife in the hands of the manicure. But some- 
times they are caused by an interception under the nails 
of the particles of juice which nourish them. 

A simple remedy of equal parts of Burgundy pitch and 
myrrh, melted and applied to the nail at night will fre- 
quently cure the spots. 



THE HAND 



297 



Wearing a pair of rubber gloves at night will result in 
great improvement to your hands. Where the hands have 
been injured by housework it takes some little time to 
get them into good condition again. Of course, you should 
wash your hands with great care just before putting on 
the gloves. 

A.— 16 





CHAPTER XXXIV 
THE FOOT AND FOOT GEAR 

There's language in her eye, her cheek, her lip, 
Nay, her foot speaks. — Shakespeare. 

HE Cinderella foot is passe de mode, and if we have 
cause occasionally to regret a vagary or freak 
of the "new woman" she deserves to be eter- 
nally blessed for having made it the fashion 
for our feet to bear some harmonious propor- 
tion to the frame they are to support, and to 
have made it no longer true, as cleverly stated 
by a well-known author, that the length of a woman's 
skirts is directly proportional to the size of her feet, and 
that women with large feet are always greatly shocked at 
the immodesty of those who have small pedal extremities 
and are ''always trying to show them." 

Smallness alone was, in my girlhood, the test of beauty 
in feet, as I recollect it. I remember perfectly my mother's 
look of surprise and stern disapproval when I had to suc- 
cumb to a number three shoe, and how we were brought 

(298) 




THE FOOT AND FOOT GEAR 299 

up on a tradition that our maternal grandmother had such 
tiny feet she always wore children's shoes in size, and had 
her satin gaiters sewed on her little feet each day that not 
even a silken lace might interfere with the lines of beauty 
and symmetry. 

But in the emancipation of women, who are no longer 
dolls or toys, but fine, vigorous, splendid creatures of su- 
perb, physical development from tip to toe, feet of proper 
size to sustain a woman's weight are considered not only 
more attractive to the eye, but correct form. 

Unfortunately very few women born before the wave 
of good sense have sightly feet. Scarcely one woman in 
a thousand has a foot free from deformity or blemish of 
some kind. 

For generations back women insisted upon wearing 
shoes too short or too narrow, and shoemakers were com- 
pelled to cater to their desires and furnish shoes built 
almost upon the Chinese plan for the deluded creatures 
who insisted upon having what they were pleased to con- 
sider small feet. 

It is also really astonishing that we should have so 
long submitted to the tyranny of French heels and vise- 
like foot gear. 1 look at my number five, flat-heeled, 
broad-soled shoes, in which I walk many and many a mile 
without fatigue, and think how foolish I once was, — and 
not so foolish either, for in those days common-sense shoes 
were not to be had. 

Fortunately we know better nowadays, and our little 
girls are growing up with beautiful, undeformed feet ; but, 
as I have said, so recently have we come to our senses 



300 HARRIET HUBBARD AYER 

that the woman past thirty with a perfect foot is almost 
unknown. 

Occasionally an actress is said to have a perfect foot, 
and her fame is made thereby. Yet when "Trilby" was 
played all over the country by different women, there was 
never a real Trilby foot that bore unscathed the telltale 
test of the photographer. 

The foot of the average woman should require at least 
a number five shoe. A large foot on a tiny woman is not 
beautiful, but on the other hand neither is a tiny little foot 
artistically pretty or agreeable to gaze upon. It is harmony 
that makes be&.uty, — proper proportions that make harmony. 

A woman's foot attains its normal size at about twenty- 
two. Strange to say, the foot at sixteen or seventeen is 
larger than a few years later. Shoemakers all say that 
girls between sixteen and seventeen have feet that are not 
yet shaped. They are fat and flabby. At about twenty 
the foot gets its proper shape, the flesh grows firmer, the 
muscles and tendons stronger and the bones become well 
set. When the foot gets its settled shape a narrower shoe 
is required, frequently two sizes narrower than could have 
been worn at sixteen. At about forty a woman's feet go 
back to the flabby state. 

It is true that small feet are considered by many a 
mark of aristocracy, but they certainly do not indicate 
superiority of intellect, for many brainy women of su- 
preme intelligence have had very large feet. For example, 
George Eliot and Mme. de Stael, the most brilliant 
women intellectually of their day, had such large and un- 
gainly feet that they were made miserable by the con- 



THE FOOT AND FOOT GEAR 301 

sciousness of their undue proportions. Mme. de Stael once 
ventured to assume the role of a Greek statue in some 
tableaux vivants, and was grievously offended by the witty 
Talleyrand's hon mot that he recognized the impersonator 
at once by the ''pied de Stael. '^ 

A long hand and foot are said to indicate mental su- 
periority and a capacity for a larger grasp and a greater 
tenacity of purpose than smaller members. The proper 
size of a woman's foot varies from five and one-half to 
nine inches — that is, the foot that has been unrestricted 
from infancy and permitted to grow as freely as the head, 
without stricture of any kind. The fashionable Chinese foot 
is about three and one-half inches in length, and I have 
seen the feet of women in modern Europe which were re- 
duced by tight squeezing to almost Chinese proportions. 

A truly beautiful foot must first be free from all blem- 
ishes, and in perfect proportion to the leg and stature. 
The instep should be high, or moderately high, and the 
portion under the instep hollow and well raised above the 
level of the sole, the toes regular and well developed, the 
heel narrow and nonprojecting — the general outline of 
the perfect foot is long, slender and graceful. The toes of 
the beautiful foot, according to Flaxman, should follow 
each other imperceptibly in a graceful curve from the first 
to the fifth, and in the Greek foot, according to the most 
famous statues, the second toe was made longer than the 
great toe. The beauty of the longer second toe is dis- 
puted. The skin of the main part of the foot should be 
of an almost marble whiteness, and the toes and heels 
alone a rosy pink. 



ClLBEIfl'!*' 




1^^-..V 



CHAPTER XXXV 



THE FOOT AND FOOT GEAR — Concluded 



Her feet beneath her petticoats 
Like little mice stole in and out. 

— Sir John Suckling. 




^HE present generation of girls should at least 
have feet free from all defects and blemishes, 
if not perfect in shape, for all daughters of 
sensible mothers have been shod for twenty 
years back v\^ith flat, common-sense, heelless 
shoes. No girl v^hose feet are thus attired 
ever has been known to suffer from a corn, 
distorted nail, or even from a callous spot. 

The high French heel is accountable not only for the 
distortion of the first joint of the great toe, but for innu- 
merable feminine internal complaints — besides which, it 
is utterly impossible for any woman alive to walk or 
dance gracefully in high French heels. It is said that a 
fashionable French woman once asked a famous artist 

(302) 



THE FOOT AND FOOT GEAR 303 

how to acquire a graceful carriage, and was told to take 
off her high-heeled shoes, place them on top of her head, 
and practice walking until she could do so without the 
little shoes showing the slightest quiver of motion. 
''When you can walk," he said, ''with those shoes per- 
fectly balanced, you will have the gait of a goddess, and 
for the first time since French heels were invented they 
will really have served to help and not to disfigure a 
woman." 

Du Maurier's description of Trilby's foot has done 
effective missionary work among us. I give it even 
though you all may have read it, for it is very pertinent 
to this subject : — 

"Poor Trilby! The shape of those lovely, slender feet 
(that were neither large nor small) facsimiled in dusty, 
pale, plaster of paris, survives on the shelves and walls 
of many a studio throughout the world, and many a 
sculptor yet unborn has yet to marvel at their strange 
perfection in studious despair. 

" It is a wondrous thing, the human foot — like the 
human hand, even more so perhaps ; but unlike the hand, 
with which we are so familiar, it is seldom a thing of 
beauty in leather boots or shoes. 

" So that it is hidden away in disgrace, a thing to be 
thrust out of sight and forgotten. It can sometimes 
be very ugly indeed — the ugliest thing there is, even 
in the fairest and highest and most gifted of her sex ; 
and then it is of an ugliness to chill and kill romance 
and scatter love's young dream^ and almost break th^ 
heart, 



304 HARRIET HUBBARD AYER 

"And all for the sake of a high heel and a ridiculously 
pointed toe — mean thing at the best ! 

''Nothing else that Mother Nature has to show, not 
even the human face divine, has more subtle power to 
suggest high physical distinction, happy evolution, and su- 
preme development ; the lordship of man over beast, the 
lordship of man over man, the lordship of woman over 
all!" 

These are certainly not the feet of our grandmothers, 
for they 

/' Like little mice stole in and out 
As if they feared the light." 

The gods be thanked for common-sense feet at last, and 
for a Du Maurier to make them fashionable. 

For those of us who have suffered a martyrdom for 
past offenses in improper care of the feet, including the 
tight, French-heeled boot of torture, a word as to the toilet 
of the feet. 

First, and most important of all, to preserve them in a 
thoroughly healthy and comfortable state, thorough clean- 
liness is of course requisite. They should be bathed daily, 
and two or three times a week they should be soaked in 
warm or tepid water, and well scrubbed with a brush and 
soap, so that every particle of dust or perspiration which 
constantly accumulates about them may be removed. The 
best time for this operation is just before retiring. Once 
a week at least the feet should be carefully examined after 
the soaking above referred to — every particle of loose skin 
should be removed while they are still soft from the warm 
water — and callosities or indurations should be rubbed 



THE FOOT AND FOOT GEAR 305 

quite smooth with a bit of pumice stone, or better still, a 
Japanese corn file. The nails should also, about once a 
week, be carefully inspected, cut so that their length is 
just the length of the toe. The shape of the nail should 
follow the natural curve of the toe. If they be allowed 
to grow longer they are liable to be forced back by the 
pressure of the shoe and to grow into the flesh. Be care- 
ful also not to cut the nails of the toes too short, as in 
such cases the toes lose their natural support. Cutting 
the nail to the quick has actually caused lockjaw and 
death, an authentic case being on record of a lady who 
died of tetanus or lockjaw nine days after cutting the 
nail by accident into the quick. 

Nails that have a tendency to grow sidewise should 
be kept carefully pared. Where the nail grows into the 
flesh it may be cured by making a Y-shaped cut in the 
center, the broad part of the Y at the top of the nail. 
For ingrowing nails Monin also advises bandaging the 
toe with compresses saturated with perchlorate of iron. 
Despite the protest of many girls who are not yet con- 
verted, ingrowing toe nails are invariably produced by 
pressure or a blow. A shoe too narrow across the toe 
or tread of the foot, or insufficiently long for ease and 
comfort, though large enough elsewhere, either cramps or 
distorts the fore part of the foot and toes 'or arrests the 
nails in their proper growth forward, forcing them back 
upon the sensitive flesh at their roots and sides and caus- 
ing them to grow in width and thickness only. 

The results of tight shoes are not always immediate, 
but they are sure and very painful, 



306 HARRIET HUBBARD AYER 

Corns are horny indurations with a very sensitive 
nucleus or base, and appear on the exposed portions of 
the joints of the toes. They are certainly caused by an 
undue and continuous pressure, and will usually disappear 
with large, easy shoes — otherwise, though frequently taken 
out, they will reappear. To remove them, soak the feet 
for twenty minutes and pare the corns as close as possi- 
ble to the surface, taking care, however, never to make 
them bleed, then use one of the following remedies ; they 
are all effective : — 

CURE FOR CORNS 

Take a lemon, cut off a small piece, then nick it so as to let 
in the toe with the corn ; tie this on at night so that it cannot 
move, and in the morning you will find that, with a blunt knife, 
you may remove a considerable portion of the corn. Make two or 
three applications, and great relief will be the result. 

The pain occasioned by corns may be greatly allevi- 
ated by the following preparation: — 

Into an ounce vial put two drachms of muriatic acid and six 
drachms of rose water. With this mixture wet the corns night and 
morning for three days. Soak the feet every evening in warm water 
without soap. Put one-third of the acid into the water, and the corn 
will soon be dissolved. 

SOFT CORNS 

Soft corns may be cured by using the following : — 

Dip a piece of linen rag in turpentine, and wrap around the 
toe, on which the corn is situated, night and morning, and in a 
few days the corn will disappear. 

Nitric acid, caustic, and strong tincture of iodine are 
also used for removing corns. 



THE FOOT AND FOOT GEAR 307 

Corn plasters may be procured of an apothecary or 
made at home by cutting a small circular bit of leather 
or kid with a hole the size of the corn cut out in the 
center. Spread the kid with a corn plaster. The French 
corn plaster called verdigris is made as follows : — 

FRENCH CORN PLASTER 

Beeswax, four parts ; Burgundy pitch, three parts ; malt, add Ven- 
ice turpentine (verdigris in fine powder), of each one part, and stir the 
mass until nearly cold. This is the old form of "verdigris plas- 
ter " (emplastrum aeruginis) of the Paris " Codex." 

TENDER FEET 

Rubbing the soles of the feet with vinegar will ease 
them when they are sore from walking or standing. 

The disagreeable and peculiar odor arising from the 
feet of some persons is produced from an unnatural per- 
spiration. In all such cases, the greatest possible cleanli- 
ness is of the utmost importance. Salt footbaths or 
baths of vinegar and water are frequently effective. Spir- 
its of camphor may also be applied, and will sometimes 
cure this very unfortunate condition. Mustard footbaths 
are advised, the object being to stimulate the circulation 
and evoke a natural excretion. 

Tender feet are caused by wearing stockings too thin 
for the weight of the shoe, and of course an ill-shaped 
boot or shoe, or one not sufficiently porous to admit of 
the escape of perspiration will also cause tender feet. 

In this connection patent leather is to be condemned. 
The process of manufacture makes it impervious to air. 
The foot perspires and swells and the whole brood of foot 



308 HARRIET HUBBARD AYER 

ills follows in due course. I have been asked frequently if 
patent leather shoes should be worn and I have been 
constrained to answer that they should, not be worn but 
doubtless will be, for some time to come. They surely 
look dressy but hardly more so than light French calf or 
kid if properly cared for. 

The best treatment for tender feet is soaking them 
nightly in bran and water or salt water. Let them remain 
in the footbath fully half an hour. Nothing so rests tired 
feet as the salt footbath. 

Coldness of the feet indicates delicate health, and im- 
paired circulation. Cold feet are destroyers of complexions. 
It is said that rubbing the feet and ankles with the bare 
hands, pressing just as strongly as the feet can endure, 
for ten or fifteen minutes every night just before retiring, 
will cure the most stubborn cases of cold feet. 

For profuse perspiration, try dusting the feet, which 
should be thoroughly washed and carefully dried at least 
twice a day, with the following powder : — 

Talc 60 grammes. 

Subnitrate of bismuth ... 45 grammes. 

Permanganate of potash . . 13 grammes. 

Salicylate of soda .... 2 grammes. 

This powder must be sifted through fine silk bolting cloth, so 
that it is impalpable. 

BUNIONS 

Bunions are the result of an inflammation or swelling 
of the previously enlarged or distorted joint of the great 
toe. A distorted joint is not a bunion until it has in- 
flamed and suppurated. Short shoes and French heels are 



THE FOOT AND FOOT GEAR 309 

the almost invariable cause of the distorted great toe 
joint. The toe is actually dislocabed in its effort to adapt 
itself to a shoe which will not yield in length. There are 
a number of mechanical appliances exploited for the cure 
of distorted joints. I have never yet seen a cure effected. 
The toe joint may be set just as any dislocated bone 
may be put back in place, and if done immediately, and 
the patient will forever after wear long shoes and for- 
swear French heels, it will remain in its proper place — 
half an hour's confinement, however, in a short shoe or 
slipper, will dislocate the joint again. 

When the bunion becomes very painful, with great 
inflammation, and a manifest gathering of pus is forming, 
poulticing should be resorted to. Nothing is so effective 
as ground flaxseed for this purpose. Make a tiny num- 
ber of poultices in little linen bags; keep applying them 
just as hot as they can be borne — spread a little carbo- 
lated vaseline over the bunion before putting the poultice 
on. If the pain be intense, add a few drops of laudanum 
to the vaseline. 

Where the feet are cut or an abrasion occurs, they 
should be soaked and carefully washed, and further pro- 
tected either by a little ointment secured with a scrap 
of lint or a bit of court-plaster. When a blister has formed, 
it is best to prick or snip it so as to let all the water or 
serum out ; then bind it over carefully, first applying a 
healing ointment. 

To all women who can afford to do so, I advise the 
weekly care of a good pedicure. The torture which only 
a corn can produce is easily averted if the feet be cared 



310 HARRIET HUBBARD AYER 

for, and bunions and other atrocities are unknown to 
those who early learn the way to treat those useful mem- 
bers, the feet. 

Pointed-toed shoes have certainly deserved a portion of 
the anathemas hurled at them, but I make a feeble protest 
for them as proper enough for people with pointed feet. 
A boot or shoe should certainly conform to the shape of 
the foot, and about eight people out of ten have feet 
which are much more pointed than square at the toe. 

I cannot see why the hideous square-toed shoe is not 
quite as grotesque as the extreme pointed tip (called in 
Paris, ''cure-dent" — tooth-pick). There can be but one 
opinion as to heels — they should be low and broad. 

No department of dress, indeed, shows more wholesome 
improvement during the past decade than foot gear. Most 
men and many women appreciate the genuine comfort of 
having the shoe made to conform somewhat to the shape 
of the foot instead of compelling the latter delicate mem- 
ber to do the stretching and shaping at any cost. A 
maker of women's boots once said : " It's easy enough to 
fit the feminine foot, but mighty hard sometimes to fit 
the feminine head." To-day, happily, it is easy to fit both, 
for broad, foot-form shoes for ordinary w^ear are "just the 
fashion." Whatever ridicule may be aimed at women for 
following masculine styles, it is certainly well for the feet 
of the growing generation that mannish styles in foot 
gear are the vogue among the gentler sex. The shoe a la 
7node is broad in the right place, i. e., along a line running 
between the main joints of the great and small toe. 
Plenty of room here makes an easy shoe and relieves the 



THE FOOT AND FOOT GEAR 311 

pressure on the ball of the foot, thus preventing an en- 
largement of the joint which is fatal to the beauty of the 
j^ied de femme. 

It is suggested that a woman should always have 
several pairs of shoes and boots and change them often, 
thus allowing the leather to dry out and resume its nor- 
mal condition. 

The use of shoe forms is also advised, to stretch out 
the wrinkles and creases. Shoes thus cared for wear 
longer and always look better. 





cij^m^ 



CHAPTER XXXVI 



FOOT MASSAGE 



Full of strange shapes, of habits and of forms. — Love's Labour Lost, 




^ROM childhood we impose upon our feet, making 
them conform to a shape in shoes decreed by 
fashion and quite at variance with Nature's 
arrangement. 

I find ninety-nine women out of a hundred 
have taken just such or kindred liberties with 
their pedal extremities, and once the feet 
have been thus tampered with, they never quite recover. 
Massage is a wonderful method for soothing the aches 
of feet that have been improperly shod, as well as for the 
pain that comes from overexertion, long walking, or stand- 
ing. 

To give tired feet, restful, delightful massage the op- 
erator need not be an expert masseuse. 

The process begins with an application of a quieting 
lotion to the foot by the hand of the operator. 

(312) 




TO MASSAGE THE SORE JOINT HOLD THE TOE IN PLACE BY SEPARATING THE GREAT AND 

SECOND TOES 




RUB ALWAYS FROM THE ANKLE TOWARD THE TOES 



(313) 




TO RELIEVE BUNIONS AND SWOLLEN JOINTS 

A BtT OF THICK FELT BETWEEN THE GREAT AND SECOND TOES WILL GREATLY RELIEVE THE DISTORTED JOINT 



(314) 






FOOT MASSAGE 315 

Arnica diluted with warm water will prove a simple 
and soothing application. 

After the lotion has dried rub the foot gently, using 
a good toilet cream or oil of sweet almonds. Always 
draw the blood from the ankle or instep to the toes. 
Support the instep or ball of the foot with the left hand 
while rubbing with the right, using the downward move- 
ment on the outside of foot and ankle. A rotary motion 
on the instep is also very restful. 

All the nerves start from the feet, which should be 
treated the same as the head — removing the shoes and 
elevating the feet to a comfortable position — not too high. 

The foot should never be massaged without using a 
little oil or cream. For a tender foot which perspires too 
freely always use oil, alcohol and ammonia combined, one 
ounce of oil, two ounces of alcohol and one tablespoonful 
of ammonia. For a burning foot use cream or oil. Iodine 
should never be used on the foot in its full strength. 

After a corn has been cut, it should always be pro- 
tected from the stocking (for an hour at least) by a piece 
of adhesive plaster, or by applying some good cream and 
wrapping a small piece of cotton around the toe. 

Take extra care in fitting shoes. Pay no attention to 
the toes, but fit the heel and instep, thus bringing the 
pressure on the instep, where it should be, and not on the 
toes. 

There is no permanent cure for an enlarged joint or 
corn. They can only be relieved, and all " magic cures " 
should be avoided, as they eventually do more harm than 
good. 

A.— 17 



316 HARRIET HUBBARD AYER 

Ingrowing nails can be cured by proper cutting and 
protecting the corners after the diseased part has been 
removed, which is essentially the work of a skilled chirop- 
odist. 

Distorted great toe joints are always caused by shoes 
too short for the foot. 

To relieve the pain and throw the joint back into 
place put a bit of thick felt between the great and second 
toes. 

To massage the sore joint always hold the toe in 
place by separating the great and second toes. This of 
itself will give relief. Never massage the great toe joint 
by a pressure that will bend the great toe still further 
toward the second toe. 

A soda footbath is as effective as any other treatment 
for burning feet. Take a handful of common washing 
soda and let it dissolve in a large foot tub two-thirds full 
of tepid water. Soak the feet in this bath for twenty 
minutes. Usually it will remove the burning sensation 
and give great relief. 

Above all things avoid short shoes. They are the 
cause of that obstinate and painful trouble called in- 
growing toe nail. The best shoe is that which is long and 
broad, with the sole projecting as much as one-eighth of 
an inch beyond the foot. Avoid extremely sharp-pointed 
shoes. Happily they, are no longer in fashion, and the 
woman who has a square foot need not pinch her toes in 
order to be correct. 

For tired and tender feet try bathing them in hot 
water into which a big handful of sea salt has been dis- 




USE THE ROTARY MOVEMENT ON THE OUTSIDE OF THE FOOT AND ANKLE 




SUPPORT THE BALL OF THE FOOT WITH THE LEFT HAND, MAKE THE MOVEMENT ALWAYS 

DOWNWARD WITH THE RIGHT (317) 



c 



"S 




u. 
O 

> 
I 

Ol 
< 

o 
o 
liJ 
o 

liJ 

X 



FOOT MASSAGE 319 

solved. Let the feet remain in the water fifteen minutes. 
Dry and rub the soles with half of a lemon. The relief 
is most grateful. 

Either one of these two formulas will be found effec- 
tive for excessive and odorous perspiration: — 

No. 1. — Oleate of zinc, ^ ounce; powdered starch, 1 ounce; sali- 
cylic acid, 1 scruple. 

No. 2. — Beta-naphthol, ^ drachm; distilled witch hazel, 4 ounces. 
Apply well to the skin. 

The following formulas represent good prescriptions for 
the treatment of corns and bunions : — 

I 

Borate of sodium ... 1 drachm. 
Extract of cannabis . . 1 scruple. 
Collodion 1 ounce. 

Paint over the corn or bunion every day once or twice, and after 
five or six applications the superficial growth can be scraped off. 

II 

Salicylic acid .... 1 drachm. 

Cocaine 5 grains. 

Collodion ^ ounce. 

Paint over the corn or bunion twice a day, and scrape away 
the superficial growth at the end of three or four days. 

The following recipe will be found good for the treat- 
ment of chilblains : — 

Camphor . . . ■♦ . ... 1 drachm. 
Beta-naphthol .... 10 grains. 

Cocaine 5 grains. 

Diachylon ointment . . 1 ounce. 

After bathing the part in hot water, balsam of copaiba is painted 
over the surface. 




CHAPTER XXXVII 



LATE HOURS AND DISSIPATION 




To sing a requiem and such rest to her 
As to peace-parted souls. — Hamlet. 

'hen one considers how many women there are 
whose happiness and comfort have been de- 
stroyed through dissipated husbands, or be- 
cause of the vagaries of an intemperate son, 
it is almost a wonder that every one of the 
gentler sex is not a total abstainer. 

Time was when for a woman to drink 
spirits, or even malt liquor was scandalous. This, how- 
ever, was in the days of our national isolation when vis- 
itors to our shores were few and foreign travel tedious 
and expensive. Now the gay and vicious capitals of Eu- 
rope are within speaking distance, and, if this were not so, 
there has for a long time been a constant influx from the 
drinking nations of the Old World. The German has 
taught us to be fond of our beer, which, indeed, might 

(320) 



LATE HOURS AND DISSIPATION 321 

not be harmful to any great extent if used in the mod- 
erate and rational way of the German himself. But the 
American disposition is not the Teutonic. One of our 
characteristics is to endeavor to "beat people at their 
own game." It is so in commerce, agriculture, invention 
and in beer drinking. The German is satisfied with his 
single mug, which he drinks slowly. We go him one 
better, guzzle two glasses, go about our business and come 
back later for another to find our friend still musing over 
his single mug. The Frenchman, from the land of brandy, 
champagne and claret is generally satisfied with a pint 
of the latter at his dinner. With us the claret is too 
often the beginning, champagne follows, then brandy, and 
the next day — absinth to pull us together. And not our 
men of fashion alone, — that were bad enough, — but many 
women vie with the sterner sex in the convivial round — 
so-called respectable women, too, and those not respect- 
able. The latter soon drop out of sight ; the former in 
many cases press into their places, and the dance of dis- 
sipation goes on. Here are two instances from many 
which have come under my personal observation. I cite 
them in this place mainly to show the effect of dissipation 
upon beauty, health and morality. 

There is no dodging the fact that the youthful beauty 
of the American girl in its original charm rarely outlives 
the third society season. A woman's face is the mirror 
that reflects her life, and the face of a typical New York 
girl-woman, — for she whom I have in my mind can't at 
this writing be a day over two and twenty,— is such a 
pronounced example of the results of three seasons of New 



322 HARRIET HUBBARD AYER 

York fashionable life that I here analyze it and endeavor 
to show just how the process has been accomplished. 

Miss , a charming young creature of eighteen, was 

married in a fashionable New York church. 

After a brief wedding journey the bridal couple re- 
turned to New York. Then followed a first season in 
fashionable high life. The little wife began the career of 
dissipation with an evident distaste for all-night balls and 
champagne suppers, but, as usual, the pleasures and excite- 
ments of society triumphed over simplicity. 

The girl who once rose at seven, fresh as a bird and 
sweet as a flower, now dragged herself wearily about her 
boudoir and dressing room morning after morning. She 
was never, as she herself declared, fit to be seen before 
one o'clock. When, braced up on strong coffee and wine 
of cocoa, she descended to second breakfast at that hour, 
and after a glass of wine and enough sustaining food to 
nourish the proverbial canary, she began her day of social 
duties and pleasures. 

Night after night she insulted her strong young stom- 
ach by such a combination as would make an ostrich run 
to cover. Terrapin, champagne ; salad, champagne ; ices, 
champagne ; pates, champagne ; and champagne as a run- 
ning accompaniment to all sweets, pastries — everything 
under a Delmonico or Waldorf-Astoria moon, or that could 
be thought of or advised by a dyspepsia breeder in cook's 
clothing, was thrust into this once good little stomach. 

At the end of the year the pretty child was a haggard 
young thing, with the color almost gone out of her cheeks 
and lips. Always so tired. At the end of three years I 



LATE HOURS AND DISSIPATION 323 

beg to point out to you at any one of your ultrafashion- 
able functions, a young woman who takes her cock- 
tails before she can even swallow her coffee, when she 
is awaking from a narcotically induced sleep about 
midday; a young woman who smokes cigarettes almost 
incessantly, and whose face is, at the end of three years, 
such a startling record of the dissipations of smart life 
that the most callous heart is moved to pity in contem- 
plating it. 

Who shall say that he or she does not recognize the 
type ? Who will save her ? 

The second case is sadder still. 

Not long ago I received a letter from a young woman 
whom I had known in other days, when she was a beau- 
tiful girl, — a belle of the most fashionable set in a not 
very distant city. 

The letter was w^ritten from a private hospital. The 
writer recalled herself to me, and begged me to come and 
see her. She had, she said, something of importance to 
say to me. 

So I went, and when I was ushered into the room 
occupied by Mrs. Gordon, as I shall call her, I saw the 
saddest sight my eyes have rested upon for many and 
many a long day. 

Fanny, when I knew her some years ago, was a charm- 
ing young creature of eighteen. She was about that time 
married to an immensely rich young man in a fashionable 
church near by, and every one said that she had made the 
match of the season. Certainly it was a great marriage 
if position and money make greatness. 



324 HARRIET HUBBARD AYER 

Almost up to her wedding day my little friend had 
lived a healthful, normal life of great simplicity. A wed- 
ding tour to Europe followed by a presentation to Her 
Majesty, the Queen, and, according to the reports in the 
columns devoted to the world of fashion, a new belle had 
daw^ned upon the social horizon. 

Little Mrs. G's beauty, her toilets, her jewels, the atten- 
tion and admiration she attracted— we heard it all over 
here. When the G's came home, the stamp of fashionable 
dissipation was plainly seen upon her. 

For several years she reigned undisputed over a circle 
of devoted adorers. Then there came a grave scandal, a 
separation, stories of recklessness — more scandal, and, at 
last, a total disappearance from the world that formerly 
knew her and easily forgot her. 

Casually I heard that Fanny G. was living in England. 
Years passed, and lately I sat by her bedside and watched 
her pass away. She died from the excessive use of stimu- 
lants and narcotics. She was a little over thirty years of 
age, but she looked at least fifty. 

The day I went to see her in response to her request 
she said to me : — 

"You see the price I have paid for my mistakes. I 
am giving my life. Oh, I know it is only a question of a 
little time; they cannot deceive me. I am paying with 
my life for the ignorance that was the first cause of all 
my misfortunes. 

''Of course, girls usually won't listen to the experience 
of others. They have to learn from their own, but I want 
you to beg the pretty girls who are as foolish and inno- 



LATE HOURS AND DISSIPATION 325 

cent as I was, to remember that nothiDg will so soon de- 
stroy their beauty as dissipation." 

Here she smiled faintly -and said: — 

"Perhaps you can scare them into being temperate. 
Tell them how soon every vestige of beauty goes from 
the woman who drinks or takes narcotics. 

*' Tell them that champagne suppers, tonics containing 
cocaine, cocktails, and all the rest come first and destroy 
a woman's will power and make those dreadful drooping 
lines about the mouth because the muscles are bound 
to relax when they are loosed from the control of the 
will. 

" Explain to them that abnormal excitement drives 
normal sleep away. Then comes the most awful of all 
the demons that conspire to destroy a woman — nar- 
cotics. 

" Look at me ! See the horrible work of drugs ! I am 
just thirty and my teeth have almost crumbled away. Mor- 
phine injections have destroyed them. My beautiful hair, 
you see, is nearly gone. My face is old. The dreadful 
lines tell their ov^n story — dissipation and drugs. 

" When I first tasted wine, I did not like it, but it kept 
me going, so I took it until little by little I learned to 
drink alcoholic mixtures. Very soon I found I could not 
sleep, and a friend gave me a prescription for a sleeping 
draught, which seemed to work miracles. After I had taken 
it for nearly a year, I found that one of the ingredients 
was a form of opium. By this time I was taking alco- 
holic stimulants daily and the sleeping medicine at night. 
J tried^ but could not stop. 



326 HARRIET HUBBARD AYER 

"It is impossible for a woman to be morally healthy 
when she is never really in a normal state. So I lost my 
husband, my friends, everything — and hope as well." 

We buried my poor little friend very quietly, very ten- 
derly. She had paid the awful price of yielding to temp- 
tations which to-day beset a woman, no matter what her 
station in life, as never before. 

I give you her message, which forcibly impresses the 
fact that excess is fatal to beauty and destructive of hap- 
piness and morality as well. But in this connection I want 
to say a cheering word spoken from an experience on two 
continents extending over well-nigh a generation. It is this. 
The day of drinking men and drinking women, except 
among this " fast set " I have described or among the very 
lowest classes, is dying out. It is no longer the fashion 
to drink, especially to excess. The demands of home-life 
among women and the sharp competitive business struggle 
among men, alike require clear brains and steady nerves. 
Women lose caste and men lose their jobs when once 
fairly convicted of habitual excess. And this is as it should 
be. It is but the dispensation of a wise Providence. 

And right here I wish to air the eternal grudge I bear 
against tea or coffee drinking to excess. The young should 
never drink either. It retards their growth and makes 
them prematurely old. Unless used in^ moderation, even 
by elders, we note strained or shattered nerves causing 
chronic insomnia. The good doctors will order bromides; 
then come narcotics — and ruin. 




CHAPTER XXXVIII 



PHYSICAL CULTURE 



Health must be there, or heauty cannot be. 




HYSiCAL culture has, happily, passed the "craze'' 
stage, and has settled down to a sensible and 
reasonable amount of daily exercise. 

Thinking women who know something of 
anatomy and a little of physiology, are satis- 
fied that nothing can take the place of the 
daily exercise which brings all the muscles of 
the body into play, expands the lungs, and sends the blood 
tingling through the veins. These women know that by 
a certain amount of physical training they will never lose 
their supple grace ; will never develop huge abdomens, and 
hips, aijd will never join the army of distorted creatures, 
who suffer from the results of overeating and inertia, 
known as the woman with the middle-aged figure, — the 
women who, as poor Kate Field used to say, ''will insist 

(327) 



328 HARRIET HUBBARD AYER 

upon sitting on the ends of their spines.'' There are a 
number of excellent gymnasiums in every large city where 
women may go, when they wish, to take exercise, but the 
average woman may perfectly well practice gymnastics in 
her bedroom. 

Deep Breathing 

First of all should come proper breathing. 

It is somewhat remarkable that we should have been 
breathing day and night ever since we came into the 
world, and yet that very few of us know how to breathe 
properly. At least there are very few of us who make a 
daily practice of deep breathing — not an occasional respi- 
ration longer than usual, but fifty or more of them taken 
systematically during the course of the day. It is said 
that nine-tenths of our colds can be cured in their in- 
cipiency by deep breathing. 

I have heard, indeed, of a health club which enjoins 
upon members that each shall take at least one hundred 
deep breaths, ten at a time, during each day. 

It is hard, however, to think to do anything ten times 
at regular intervals throughout our waking hours. It is 
too much like taking medicine, or rather not taking it, 
for who has not placed a quota of powders in the pocket 
or purse to doctor with while at business and found the 
whole lot intact on returning home at night ? But deep 
breathing is important enough to pay one to form the 
habit. If we take a daily walk for exercise solely, the 
deep breathing may become a natural accompaniment. 
Those who exercise day or night in their rooms can throw 



PHYSICAL CULTURE 331 

open the window and take a dozen deep draughts as a 
preliminary. 

We can all, every one of us, enjoy a few full respira- 
tions, the more the better, when we are leaving home in 
the morning or returning at night. Let me give you my 
little system which will soon develop into a habit. When 
you start out, take only one inhalation (always through 
the nose) to each four steps, and expel the air through the 
mouth on the next four. Keep this up for a day or two 
and you will find that five steps to a breath will come 
quite as easy and after a while six or seven. When you 
can take eight steps at your ordinary gait while inflating 
the lungs only once and when you can empty them dur- 
ing the next eight steps, and keep it up for ten minutes, 
you will have a chest expansion which will stand you 
well in hand against any attack of lung trouble, and you 
will have acquired a habit of deep breathing, and erect- 
ness of figure which will be of value to you as long as 
you live. 

The ordinary half breath, such as we take when sleep- 
ing, or unconsciously, when awake, does not go to the bot- 
tom of the lungs and enter all the little air cells whose 
function it is to oxygenate the blood. As a consequence, 
the air in these unused cells is valueless and the blood 
which comes for its oxygen goes away without it. This 
left-over, shopworn air needs to be replaced with fresh 
goods and the deep breath is the only thing that will do 
it. It is said to require seven full inspirations to clear 
the lungs entirely of this residuum and fill all the cells 
with pure air. This done you will often feel a tingling 



332 HARRIET HUBBARD AYER 

sensation as the blood courses through the veins, you will 
become sensible that your clothing is too tight for you, 
that you are a much bigger individual than you thought 
you were and you become aware that you are looking up 
and over peoples heads instead of down at their knees. 
The hermetically sealed house which you have lain in all 
night, or the stuffy office which has held you all day are 
in turn forgotten. You face the wind like a fallow deer 
and are at one with Nature. 

A breath is a little thing, but a deep breath, if it be- 
come a habit, is a big thing — well-nigh big enough to 
make the difference between a consumptive and an athlete. 
Cultivate the habit of deep breathing in the open air and 
then boudoir gymnastics, persistently followed, will pre- 
vent you from growing stiff or stout, and will remedy 
many physical defects which are the results usually of 
bad habits and inaction. 

Even young girls inclined to stoop, and anaemic, may 
take exercises every morning which will prove of incal- 
culable benefit to them. Simple appliances only are needed, 
or, indeed, none at all. The boudoir exercises may include 
the use of the stick, dumb-bells and clubs. They may be 
perfectly well taken in the nightdress. The windows 
should be thrown open, enough to admit the fresh air. 
The first exercise should be a breathing exercise. The 
subject stands perfectly erect, heels together, and arms ex- 
tended straight in front, palms touching. The palms are 
now separated, the arms sweep backward. The exerciser 
meanwhile draws in a deep breath. Next the arms are 
thrown as far backward as possible without inconvenience, 



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PHYSICAL CULTURE 335 

the lungs are expanded, and the exercises reversed, the 
arms brought to the first position and the breath exhaled. 
These movements should be repeated about five times. 

The next movement is as follows : — 

The subject drops her arms close to her hips and raises 
them above her head without bending the elbows, but 
drawing in the breath during this movement, exhaling the 
breath as the arms are dropped to the hips again. Next 
the subject doubles her fists and draws them toward her 
until they strike her shoulders, the elbows being close to 
her sides. Then she extends them full to the front as 
though striking at a punching bag, inhaling and exhaling 
at each movement. The neck exercises should follow ; the 
subject lets her head drop forward as though she had no 
control over the muscles of the neck. She then rolls her 
head with a circular motion from side to side as though 
she were trying to describe a circle. 

The next boudoir gymnastics are usually those with 
the dumb-bells. The first four simple dumb-bell exercises 
are practiced. The leaning movements, where the subject 
leans forward until the tips of the fingers touch the toes 
are also excellent. The leg swing, where the subject tries 
to see how large a circle she can describe in the air by 
swinging first one leg and then the other, using the large 
toe as a marker, is used for developing the thigh, and 
brings into action all the muscles of the leg from the foot 
to the hip. 

High kicking is also practiced, but I disapprove of it, 
as I have known serious results to follow, and it is usu- 
ally too much of an exertion. 



336 HARRIET HUBBARD AYER 

There are several good books on physical culture, most 
of them a little too complicated for use without the aid 
of an instructor. The broomstick exercises, as well as 
those of the bells and the clubs, are perfectly described in 
a little book called "Handbook of Light Gymnastics," 
which can be purchased for a very small sum at any of 
the booksellers, and is very simple. 

Another and more detailed book giving directions for 
the use of dumb-bells is *' Beale's Handbook of Calisthenics." 
This costs at retail about seventy-five cents. 




AN IlNn/ITATION TO 
CONJUMPTIQ 



CONSUMPTION 
DEFIED 




EXERCISES IN PHYSICAL CULTURE 



(337) 




(338) 



PHYSICAL CULTURE— LING MOVEMENTS 




CHAPTER XXXIX 



PHYSICAL CULTURE — Continued 




Have mind upon your health. — Julius Csesar. 

^HE Swedish or Ling system and that of Dr. 
Schreiber require no apparatus or aid of any- 
kind; are easily taught, and do not involve 
any great fatigue. The method of Dr. Schrei- 
ber consists solely in a series of rhythmic ges- 
tures of the body and limbs, performed in the 
following order : — 
1st. Describe a circular movement with each arm twenty 
times in succession. Extend the arms forward, outward 
and upward, thirty times in succession, taking eight or 
ten deep inspirations between each series. 

2d. Execute a circular movement from the waist, sway- 
ing the upper part of the body slowly round, the hands 
resting on the hips, thirty times. 

3d. Extend the leg as nearly at right angles with the 
body as possible, twelve times each side, taking eight or 
ten deep inspirations between each series. 

A.-18 • (339) 



340 HARRIET HUBBARD AYER 

4th. Extend and bend the foot twenty times each side ; 
perform the gesture of reaping or sawing thirty times; 
bend each knee rapidly twenty times ; take eight or ten 
inspirations. 

5th. Eaise the arm swiftly and rapidly, as in the action 
of throwing a lance, twelve times in succession ; throw 
out both arms simultaneously twenty or thirty times; 
take eight or ten deep inspirations. 

6th. Trot on one spot, resting the hands on the hips, 
and lifting the feet briskly, a hundred to three hundred 
times. Take eight or ten deep inspirations. 

7th. Jump with the hands on the hips, and the head 
and body erect, fifty or a hundred times. Take eight or 
ten inspirations. 

The proper execution of these various movements, 
which should be performed with vigor but without haste 
and with intermissions for rest, should not consume more 
than a good half hour of time. Every gesture should be 
well defined and separated by a little pause from the pre- 
ceding and subsequent movement. No woman should ever 
exercise to the limit of her strength, and pain and ex- 
haustion are to be feared and avoided. The room for 
taking these exercises should be spacious, well ventilated, 
and with just as little furniture as possible. The dress of 
the performer should be loose and light. The modern 
gymnasium suit is exactly adapted to this work. Low- 
heeled, easy shoes should be worn — or better still, shoes 
without heels at all. 

While adequate exercise without apparatus is quite 
possible, the latter, however, is of special value as a daily 




PHYSICAL CULTURE— DUMB-BELL EXERCISES 



(341) 




4; TRYING FOR THE GOAL 




2: A GOOD CATCH 





3: READY TO THROW 



1 : MAKING A PASS 



(342) THE GAME OF BASKET BALL (A HEALTHFUL PASTIME) 



PHYSICAL CULTURE 343 

reminder. For instance, a Whitely Exerciser hanging in 
your room will help keep you to your work, especially as 
it admits of a great variety of movements including some 
of the most beneficial out-door amusements, such as row- 
ing and swimming. It can be used by man or woman, 
boy or girl, and makes the muscles supple, not lumpy as 
may be the case from dumb-bell work. 

Dumb-Bell Exercises to Build up the Chest 

I am very often asked what kind of skin food shall be 
used to develop the chest and bust. 

Now, no skin food will do this work alone. The sub- 
ject must practice light gymnastics and deep breathing. 
In connection, massage, with a good skin food, is advised, 
but it must be undei'stood that the skin food alone with- 
out physical culture will do little or nothing in the way 
of developing the chest and increasing the bust measure. 

One of the simplest forms of light calisthenics is with 
the bells. The small, wooden bells, weighing not more than 
one-half pound each, are best. 

The subject must wear a loose dress but no gymnasium 
costume is necessary. Shoes with flat heels must be worn 
and every garment should be loose admitting of great 
freedom of motion. Don't attempt to exercise in a room 
that is not well ventilated. Open the windows so you will 
have fresh, pure air to breathe. 

In exercising keep the head up and breathe deep and 
full, allowing the chest to expand to the utmost. The 
time to take a full breath is when the muscles are relaxed. 



344 HARRIET HUBBARD AYER 

In the first movement for developing the chest, as seen 
in illustration No. 1, the bells rest easily on the shoulders, 
the subject throws the arm out and back ten times, alter- 
nating first the right and then the left. 

No. 2 shows the same movement performed with both 
arms simultaneously. This movement should be practiced 
ten times also. 

Nos. 3 and 4 illustrate the second movement, showing 
the arms and hands at rest and in action; practice this 
also first with one hand, then the other, then with both, 
ten times each. 

Nos. 5 and 6 illustrate one of the very important 
movements for the strengthening of the muscles. The 
bells rest upon the shoulders, and in the movement 
the arm is thrown straight up by the side of the head. 
This movement should be repeated also ten times, 
first with the right, then with the left, then simultane- 
ously. 

Nos. 7 and 8 illustrate the fourth movement. Here 
the bells in repose rest upon the breast. In the move- 
ment the subject throws the arm directly out and brings 
it back again to the breast as before, first with the right, 
then with the left, then with both hands. 

There are other movements for chest development, but 
these four are excellent and so simple that any woman 
by looking at these pictures should understand perfectly 
well how to perform them. 

The great point about taking exercise is to be per- 
sistent in it; not to overdo in the beginning, and not to 
permit the monotony which is sure to follow at a certain 



PHYSICAL CULTURE 345 

stage in all gymnastics to discourage one and cause one 
to drop the exercise. 

You can't develop your chest in a day, or a week, or a 
month ; you can do a great deal, however, in this way in 
three months if you are in good health. 

These exercises can be performed at home in one's own 
bedroom; beginners should not practice over fifteen min- 
utes a day for all four of the movements. 

Never take the exercise when overfatigued, or directly 
after eating. 

In addition to the calisthenics, frequent ablutions with 
warm water, massage with electricity, if it is to be had, 
plenty of sleep in a well-ventilated room, and simple and 
nourishing food are advised. 

Flat-Chested Girls 

Symptoms of a flat chest are seen in young girls fre- 
quently as early as nine and ten years of age. Such 
girls should be trained to increase the actual size of the 
lungs — or, more properly speaking, to expand their unused 
portions. 

When the lungs expand fully they press the ribs and 
the breastbone outward. For this reason, the best exer- 
cises for an undeveloped child will be exercises that call 
for repeated lung expansion. Singing lessons are excel- 
lent, but must be taken with moderation during the form- 
ing period. Young girls and children under fourteen 
who have flat chests should be encouraged to exercise in 
hopping, skipping and running. All of these exercises 



346 HARRIET HUBBARD AYER 

expand the chest, although they are properly called leg 
exercises. 

In running, always begin slowly, then increase, and 
never run to the utmost speed. Always close the run 
with the same moderation with which it was commenced. 



Stoop-Shouldered Women 

No woman who stoops can have any style about her. 
The woman with round shoulders may put on the most 
swagger French gown, but she will not look a bit smarter 
than though she were arrayed in a bargain-counter cos- 
tume. 

But round shoulders are very easily cured in young 
people ; they are not difficult to repair in women over 
thirty, and I have seen them remedied in grandmothers. 

The first thing for a girl or woman to do who wants 
to straighten her shoulders is for her to determine to 
do so. She w^ill have to exert her will power, as one 
always must to break a habit. For while round shoul- 
ders are sometimes the result of a weakened system, they 
are far oftener the effect of a habit proceeding from 
carelessness. Girls who are studying, women who read, or 
write, or who are troubled with defective vision, are most 
apt to grow round shouldered. 

The best way to cure round shoulders is by begin- 
ning at night with a radical change in the sleeping po- 
sition. All stoopers sleep upon high pillows, taking up 
the bad chest contracting habit at night and continuing 
it without intermission till morning. One small, flat 





TO DEVELOP CALF OF LEG 



TO REDUCE SIZE OF WAIST 





CHEST DEVELOPMENT AND ROUNDED ARMS 



EXERCISES IN PHYSICAL CULTURE 



(347) 



PHYSICAL CULTURE 349 

pillow is all that any one needs. The round-shouldered 
subject should really learn to sleep without any pillow 
at all. 

Then during every moment the subject is awake she 
should make an effort to bear her infirmity in mind. 
It is easy enough to stand erect — while you think of it — 
but a trifle hard ''to remember not. to forget," as the chil- 
dren say. Stand straight and look up, not down. 

Round-shouldered persons are not often aware of the 
fact, but they rarely look people in the eyes, as they 
walk. To acquire the habit of holding the head up, there 
is no better practice than walking about one's room for 
half an hour each day with a book balanced on the head. 

In addition to these simple methods practice chest 
expansion. I wish all round-shouldered girls who write 
me, and their name is legion, would try to cure themselves 
and not expect that any external lotion or some absurd 
and senseless application will do the work miraculously. 
It is quite right to give nourishment to the skin and tis- 
sues from the outside, and round-shouldered women fre- 
quently need a skin food which should be rubbed well 
into the chest, up and down the back and across the 
shoulders. But skin food alone will accomplish very little. 
You must stand erect, hold up your head, keep your 
eyes on a level with people's faces, sleep in a proper po- 
sition and practice persistently month in and out some 
form of physical culture. The very simplest chest exer- 
cises, heretofore described, will answer. 




<. 9 GlLfjeUT » -V 



CHAPTER XL 



PHYSICAL CULTURE — Continued 



Only we want a little personal strength. — Henry IV. 




INCE the cry came from Paris that '*hips will not 
be worn this season" many hitherto proud pos- 
sessors of those articles began to think out vari- 
ous schemes to rid themselves of the superfluous 
flesh. Some women found this an easy task, 
since it consisted merely of loosening a couple 
of strings and removing the undesirable cushions bodily, 
as it were. But, unfortunately, in consideration of the 
present modes, every woman does not have hips of woven 
wire and horse hair. They are layers of "too, too solid 
flesh," which, despite her most vigorous fretting, sternly 
refuse to "melt." 

The present styles of dress necessitate more than ever 
before a well "set up" figure, to borrow the West Point 
vernacular. 

(350) 




HALF STANDING, TRUNK BENDING BACKWARD 




(352) 



EXERCISE FOR STRENGTHENING ABDOMINAL MUSCLES 

SWEDISH MOVEMENTS 



PHYSICAL CULTURE 353 

The popular idea that your whole body will move grace- 
fully if you hold your head up and your chin out has not 
proved always satisfactory. 

We are each more or less affected by the fact that we 
come of generations of women who have, so to speak, 
broken at the waist line. Sometimes because we and our 
ancestors have worn indifferent corsets; frequently because 
we have been swept off our feet by a dress-reform wave 
and have thrown corsets to the dogs, metaphorically 
speaking. 

Whatever the cause, the average woman appears to be 
woefully weak about the lumbar and abdominal regions. 

The muscles are flabby and atrophied, and nothing but 
physical exercise will restore them and give the woman 
backbone enough to acquire what is known as the rigid 
waist, which gives to the athletic girl and matron the 
carriage and distinction the narrow gowning of to-day 
requires. 

The exercises illustrated here are especially designed to 
give a woman a supple and elegant walk and carriage. 

Practicing them persistently and patiently for six or 
eight months, each movement ten or twenty times once 
or twice a day, will make a goddess of a girl who now 
looks more like a jellyfish than a Diana. 

Practicing a week or spasmodically will have only the 
effect of making the subject a bit lame in the regions of 
the hitherto unused muscles, and very uncertain as to her 
temper; so I do not advise the attempt and not the deed. 

The exercises here illustrated are devised for the re- 
duction of fat about the hips and abdomen, 



354 HARRIET HUBBARD AYER 

Miss Bergman, one of the most skillful exponents of 
the Swedish system in this country, declares that in con- 
nection with a proper diet and attention to general 
health these movements, for which one of her pupils 
posed under her directions, will not only result in the 
elimination of fat, but will restore the subject to her 
youthful grace and contour. 

The Swedish exercises, like every other, should be 
taken advisedly and with moderation in the beginning. 

The chief trouble with obese subjects is that they rely 
too much, it appears to me, upon their individual and 
unaided exertions and pay too little attention to the 
counsel of those who are by experience qualified to guide 
them over the not altogether thornless paths that lead to 
slimness — and without the aid and encouragement of a 
person who understands what can and should be accom- 
plished, the subject is very apt to attempt too much at 
first, both in exercise and abstinence, and suffers in con- 
sequence. 

To Fill Out Thin and Scrawny Throats 

At about forty, flabby throats may be looked for in 
plump or stout women, and generally found. The mus- 
cles that support the flesh lose their firmness usually 
from lack of exercise, for the woman of forty, though she 
is frequently unconscious of the fact, has grown a little 
too self-indulgent ; does not bestir herself as she did ten 
years before ; sleeps more ; eats more and, increasing in 
flesh, is surprised to see that the once solid structure of 
her throat has apparently lost its underbracing. 




SITTING, TRUNK BENDING BACKWARD WITH ARMS BENDING AND STRETCHING 




SAME AS THE FIRST WITH ARMS STRETCHING 

SWEDISH MOVEMENTS FOR REDUCING STOMACH AND HIPS 



(355) 




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PHYSICAL CULTURE ^^1 

Tt really is only a question of exercise, care and pa- 
tience to get back again the old firmness, provided, of 
course, one has not ill health to contend with. 

When an athlete lets up on his exercise he gets 
"soft," but he knows that a fortnight's training will put 
him to rights again and make him as fit as ever. 

The woman who wishes to do so can restore her 
throat to its original firmness and roundness, but she can- 
not accomplish this desirable end by merely thinking or 
talking about it. 

She must exercise, do work that no one can do for her. 

The illustrations show exercises for developing and 
restoring the throat. 

They are so simple that any woman can understand 
and practice them. 

The first movement consists in allowing the head to 
drop gently upon the breast, as far forward as it will 
without straining. 

Next raise the head and throw it as far back as possi- 
ble. Then forward again, etc., until the movement has 
been performed twenty times. 

Next the head is turned as far to the side as possible, 
the body remaining motionless, the head bent toward the 
shoulder as low as it will reach without an actual strain 
of the muscles and tendons. This movement should be 
practiced also twenty times; the neck first turned to the 
right and then to the left, ten times on each side. 

The same movement, with the chin raised as high as 
possible, repeated in the same fashion, first toward the 
right, then the left. 



358 ' HARRIET HUBBARD AYER 

The illustration showing the expelling of the breath 
when the subject slowly chants the word "blow" explains 
pictorially an excellent and very simple breathing exer- 
cise. 

The subject first takes a deep, long breath, inflating 
the lungs fully. 

Then she expels the breath slowly, pronouncing the 
word '' blo-o-o-ow " as she does so. 

This exercise should be repeated twenty times also. 

The dumb-bell exercises illustrated in an earlier por- 
tion of this chapter are excellent for developing the 
shoulders, bust and neck. 



Grace and Health Gained by Running 

"The American girl can be saved by proper physical 
training from becoming the American woman with nerves," 
said Mr. William Blaikie, author of "How to Get Strong, 
and How to Stay so." 

"This physical training should begin during the earlier 
years of childhood. Take a girl at her fifth birthday, and 
teach her to run slowly, with erect carriage, as far as 
she can with comfort every secular day until she reaches 
her majority. Suppose by fifteen she ran as far as she 
could with comfort in ten minutes, would it trouble her 
much at eighteen, or at twenty-one to run a mile at a 
good pace, too? 

"Is it not likely that even several miles under favor- 
ing circumstances for instance, in a hare and hounds 
game, would disturb her? Had she been taught to run 



PHYSICAL CULTURE 359 

properly, never touching her heels to the ground and 
spring lightly from her toes and sole, to hold her arms 
practically motionless, her chest high, as near her chin 
as she could get it, and keep it there — do you think 
that the muscles she used in running through all these 
years, would be weak ? Would she have half-developed 
lungs, or well-developed ones ? Would the muscles which 
held her body erect, be easily up to their work, and would 
it not be natural for her to be erect? 

" Looking at a girl so trained," continued Mr. Blaikie, 
*' do we recall Emerson's saying, that ' m all human 
action, those faculties will be strong which are used' ? 
She has been intelligently using certain parts of her body 
and limbs for many years; not violently, not overdoing 
them, but rationally. This built them up and made them 
strong, precisely as it did for her brother who ran with 
her in all those daily stretches. Her most important mus- 
cle, her heart, thus also trained to strong, steady, sensible 
but never violent exercise, gained steadily in quality, 
strength and endurance. In short, she has an educated 
heart, educated lungs, educated limbs. 

"And it has brought her many other good things, 
sunny, buoyant, radiant health, a feeling of equality to 
every demand — a magnetism, a personal charm that none 
but the really healthy have or know. Bright eyes, blooming 
complexion, a brain fed with healthy blood — not the sickly 
nor well-nigh worthless article — make her better fitted for 
all the mental work she may be called upon to do." 




CHAPTER XLI 



PHYSICAL CULTURE — Concluded 



Leap in with me and swim to yo ider point.. — Julius Caesar. 




KNOWLEDGE of how the body can be sustained 
in the water may mean the saving of a life 
to the girl or woman who seeks the pleas- 
ures of ocean, lake or stream during the 
summer outing. The art of swimming de- 
pends upon a few rules which may be easily 
learned by any one with the exercise of pa- 
tience and some courage. 

It is possible to learn to swim without an instructor, 
and the girl who posed for these pictures is an expert 
swimmer who never had a teacher. 

When learning to swim a place should be selected 
where the slope is gradual from the water's edge, the 
bottom smooth, hard and sandy, and free from bowlders. 
Artificial aids, such as corks, air belts, cork jackets and 
the like, should be avoided, as they raise some parts of 

(360) 



PHYSICAL CULTURE B61 

the body too high above and allow other parts to sink too 
far below the natural plane of flotation. It should be re- 
membered that the more entirely the body i-s submerged 
the more easily the head can be sustained above the 
water. Confidence in the floating power of the body 
should be acquired by the swimmer as soon as possible. 
This is one of the hardest things for the beginner to be- 
lieve, that the body will float in the water under certain 
conditions. The easiest way to float is to lie on the back, 
the arms easily resting by the sides. This attitude not 
only facilitates respiration, but counterbalances the weight 
of the lower limbs, which should be entirely submerged, 
but just under the surface of the water. 

No better start toward learning to swim can be made 
than to wade out until the water comes high up on the 
chest, then with a full indrawing of the breath, allow the 
body to sink backward with the head toward the shore 
until only the mouth and nose are above the water. The 
arms and lower limbs should be disposed as described, and 
if all effort be dispensed with, and the body quietly and 
confidently submitted to the water, it will be lightly up- 
borne. When in this position the breathing should be 
easy and regular, and if the body be kept perfectly bal- 
anced it will assert its buoyancy and the desired and nec- 
essary confidence be soon acquired. 

First Attempt at a Stroke 

To attempt to propel the body through the water while 
floating on the back will very soon follow the discovery 
that it will float. This is a pleasant and very useful way 



362 HARRIET HUBBARD A^ER 

of swimming, and if confidence be retained the beginner 
will have very little trouble. The first m,ovement is to 
draw the legs up to the body at the same time spreading 
them apart as far as possible. The legs should then be 
extended by one firm movement and at the same time 
brought close together. This motion sends the body for- 
ward, and when the impetus imparted is nearly but not 
quite expended, the legs are spread apart and brought 
close to the body as before, and the previous movement 
of extending and drawing them together is repeated. 
When extending the legs the breath should be exhaled, 
and inhaled when drawn up. If greater speed be desired 
the hands can be used as sculls by carrying them out- 
ward from the body and at the same time level with it, 
palms down. Just as the legs are closed, the hands and 
arms should be pulled strongly toward them. 

Notwithstanding back swimming is the most easily 
learned, breast swimming is the commonest and most 
generally practiced. This is begun by gently sinking the 
body forward in the water and extending the arms to 
their full length forward, keeping the fingers closed and 
the palms fiat. Turn the palms of both hands outward 
and make a strong stroke to the right and left with each 
arm. The hands should not be sunk deep under the 
water, as this tends to raise the body. The object is to 
keep the body as nearly horizontal as possible in the 
water and to propel it straight forward without raising it. 

As the arms are brought round in the semicircular 
movement the lower limbs are stiffened and brought 
firmly together. The arm movements should not be more 



PHYSICAL CULTURE 363 

rapid than those of the legs^ as the latter are the main 
propellers. Unison in movement and regularity of stroke 
are indispensable to best results. If all hurry and excite- 
ment be avoided and each stroke and kick be accomplished 
precisely and completely, swimming may not only be made 
useful and invigorating, but the swimmer may appear very 
graceful in the water 

How TO Tread Water 

The act of treading water is very naturally performed. 
The movements necessary are almost identical with the 
movements required in walking. In case of accidental im- 
mersion when the body is fully clothed, a knowledge of 
the art of treading water will preserve life for a long 
time. The body assumes a perpendicular position when 
cast into deep water owing to the buoyancy of the lungs. 
When the water comes up over the mouth and nose the 
inclination of any one unable to swim is to throw the 
hands up out of the water. All such effort serves but 
to increase the danger. When thrown into deep water 
one should be perfectly inactive for a short time. The 
head will very soon rise above the surface, and at that 
moment the hands and feet should be employed in nearly 
the same manner as in walking ; the hands beating the 
water at the sides and the feet climbing imaginary stairs. 
The hands should never be raised above the surface of the 
water, and the head should be bent back so as to submerge 
the shoulders, neck and as much of the head as will not 
interfere with breathing. 

A.— 19 



364 HARRIET HUBBARD AYER 

The overhead stroke is the style known to all boys 
as dog-fashion. Its practice is not advisable because it 
propels the body slowly and its rapid movements soon ex- 
haust the sw^immer. 

How TO Float 

The art of floating is more easily acquired than that 
of swimming, and if it be learned first it is an aid in giv- 
ing confidence. 

It is best, I think, to learn to float in shallow water, 
or moderately shallow water. If the subject be timid some 
one should stand beside her and for the first few trials 
should place the hand firmly under the base of the be- 
ginner's spine in such a w^ay as to afford physical as well 
as moral encouragement. 

Diving is a wonderful accomplishment, but it should 
never be attempted by the amateur. It demands courage 
and nerve, and no girl should try to dive until she is a 
fearless swimmer, — even then it is best to learn to dive 
from a comparatively slight elevation. 

Bathing Costumes 

There is an old-fashioned idea that bathing costumes 
should be made of fiannel. I think this a mistake. 
The most comfortable swimming dress I have ever worn 
was made of black china silk ; serge, while always in 
vogue, is heavier and does not cling less than the china 
silk. Of course the dress must be so made as to impede 
the limbs as little as possible. A skirt just to the knees, 



PHYSICAL CULTURE 365 

knickerbocker trousers, a loose bodice, free at the neck, 
with short sleeves, — this is really an ideal bathing suit. 
It is a very good plan for beginners to w^ear a leather 
belt strong enough to bear the strain of lifting the body 
if it should become necessary. 

A reaction should follow^ the cold plunge, and no one 
should remain in the v^ater w^ho feels chilly or shivers. 

There can be no pleasure in bathing in the ocean 
while one is chattering with cold, and there is very great 
danger in remaining in the water when such a condition 
exists. 

Occasionally a sea bath will give one a headache, in 
which case the person should leave the water immedi- 
ately. The same is true in case of an attack of giddiness 
or coldness of the extremities. The practice of taking a 
stimulant before or after the bath is a very bad and un- 
wholesome one. Women in a normal state of health do 
not require a stimulant either before or after a sea or 
fresh-water bath. 

It is best to be provided with a bathing gown or wrap 
which one can fold about one's self both for warmth and 
protection from the sands to the bath house. 

Cramps and Vertigo 

At the slightest symptom of a cramp, which is easily 
recognized without a description, call to some one to aid 
you in leaving the water if you are unable to propel 
yourself, or if for any reason you think you may not be 
able to reach the shore witl^Qut ^^ssistance, A cramp is a 



366 HARRIET HUBBARD AYER 

very nasty species of torment. Friction alone seems to 
be useful in such cases. A vigorous rubbing will usually 
relieve the pain and distress, but the subject should not 
return to the water the same day. 

Occasionally a first-rate swimmer will be seized by an 
attack of vertigo on leaving the water, and frequently 
ambitious beginners overtax themselves in their efforts to 
learn to swim or to buffet the weaves and are attacked 
with sudden faintness. A few drops of aromatic spirits 
of ammonia in a little fresh water will relieve these con- 
ditions almost immediately. 

How TO Rescue the Drowning 

Accidents will happen sometimes even in the midst of 
a delightful summer vacation. 

Perhaps you are an athletic girl and a strong swim- 
mer. Perhaps it may devolve upon you to save some 
less skillful comrade from drowning. Possibly, if that 
opportunity came you would be absolutely helpless be- 
cause of your lack of knowledge upon the art of life- 
saving. 

It will do no harm anyway to be prepared in case of 
such an accident. 

Do not wait for the drowning person to come to the 
surface before you attempt a rescue, for it is quite likely 
that he will not rise at all. Act immediately. Watch 
for air bubbles on the surface of the water and plunge in 
about where your judgment tells you the drowning man 
has gone down. Great caution must be exercised, for if 



PHYSICAL CULTURE 367 

you are clutched too effectually your work of rescue may 
have a most disastrous ending. Approach the drowning 
man from the back, hold his arms to prevent struggling, 
lift his head just above the water and with vigorous, even 
leg strokes swim for shore. 

It is important to remember that in swimming with 
a person through the water his elbows should be kept 
'away from his sides. This expands the lungs and adds 
to his buoyancy. 

If you are grasped by the drowning man radical meas- 
ures must be resorted to. If clutched about the neck lean 
over him, place your left hand on the small of his back, 
seize his nostrils with your right fingers and press him 
away from you. He must open his mouth to breathe and 
during the choking which will ensue you can get complete 
control. 

If clutched about the body place your left hand on his 
shoulder and bring the right knee against his chest, push 
with all your might and you will be released. 

Lay the subject flat on his back with a support under 
the shoulders and loosen all clothing. Roll him over un- 
til he is face downward, his head resting on one arm. 
Thoroughly cleanse the throat and nostrils of all matter 
which may obstruct the air passages, and return him to 
the first position. Draw the tongue forward, fastening with 
a handkerchief to prevent its falling back into the throat. 

Proceed to the work of artificial respiration. Grasp 
his arms below the elbows and draw them upward and 
outward above the head. Hold them here for a second 
or two, then carry them back and press them firmly to 



368 



HARRIET HUBBARD AYER 



the sides and front of chest. Repeat these operations 
about fifteen times a minute, until natural respiration is 
established. 

To promote warmth and circulation is the next care. 
Rub the person well all over the body, especially in the 
direction of the heart, so that the blood will flow naturally 
in that direction. 





THIS POSITION RETARDS THE CIRCULATION OF THE BLOOD 




THIS POSITION INVITES NIGHTMARE 




(370) 



CORRECT SLEEPING POSITION 




([lLl!)Er\I 



CHAPTER XLII 



HOW TO SLEEP 



Sleep, that sometimes shuts up sorrow's eje. — Shakespeare. 




s SLEEPING is one of the most important func- 
tions of life, it is necessary to know how to 
prepare for it, and how, if possible, to main- 
tain a healthful and comfortable position 
during the hours of repose. 

Altogether too little time is given to rest. 
The majority of people are workers. They toil irom six 
to ten hours daily, and are not content to make their play- 
time short. Instead of eight hours sleep, recommended 
by the laws of health, they seldom get more than five or 
six. This of course quickly destroys both health and 
vigor, especially of women. Somehow, lack of sleep affects 
a woman's looks more quickly than a man's. 

Sleeping rooms, too, are often unsuited for the purpose 
to which they are put. There are any number of girls 

(371) 



372 HARRIET HUBBARD AYER 

and women who, having but one room to themselves, are 
anxious to make that room do duty for several. They 
convert a couch into a bed. They surround it with dra- 
peries that soon become dust laden, and they pile it with 
silk and cretonne-covered cushions, which are used daily 
but seldom cleaned. All this they prefer to a clean white 
bed. The walls of this room are hung with innumerable 
gewgaws, which they suppose are artistic, but which only 
succeed in being unhygienic. If one hope for the best 
health, she must make some sacrifices; and after all, it 
pays in the end. 

The Japanese would never think of sleeping in a fur- 
nished room. In their sleeping apartments there is nothing 
more than a roll of matting which constitutes a bed. 
Americans would do well to follow the hardy little Ori- 
ental in this respect. 

The most hygienic night robe is a cotton one. If 
possible, wear it also in winter in preference to a heavy 
flannel one. Never tuck it under the pillow during the 
day. It should be first thoroughly aired, then hung in 
the closet. 

The best way to arrange one's hair in the night, is to 
plait it. It should be braided loosely to prevent the hairs 
from breaking, and in one braid. 

Beds should not be soft and downy, and girls and women 
must not, as a certain physician says they are apt to do, 
surround themselves with a great many pillows. This is 
enervating, prevents ventilation, hinders circulation and 
renders the flesh flabby. A hard bed is best for making 
firm flesh. 



HOW TO SLEEP 373 

To sleep prone upon the back, as shown in the illustra- 
tion, is unhygienic. With the figure propped up with 
many pillows and the knees raised, it is impossible to ob- 
tain beneficial sleep. This position sends the blood to the 
brain, and induces nightmare and bad dreams. It causes 
the mouth to drop open, thus making nasal breathing im- 
possible. 

Sleeping on the stomach is also unhealthful. It hinders 
digestion and circulation, and renders breathing difficult. 

By the pictures it will be observed that in both incor- 
rect positions, the arms of the sleeper are thrown over her 
head. This is what particularly impairs the circulation. 

Sleeping on the right side stretches the muscles about 
the heart, and increases any trouble one may have with 
that organ. 

An eminent physician says that the correct way to 
sleep is on the left side with the arm thrown behind. Ani- 
mals sleep as nearly upon the chest as possible and they 
adopt the best methods usually, in these matters. As 
shown in the picture, this brings the body nearly, but not 
quite over the chest. This is the best position for pro- 
moting health and a fine figure. 

That the brain may receive more perfect rest, the room 
should always be darkened, daring the hours of slumber. 
For those who are bad sleepers this precaution should 
especially be taken. 




CHAPTER XLIII 

BEAUTY AND HEALTH FOR THE BUSINESS 

WOMAN 




Because their "business still lies out o' door. — Comedy of Errors. 

>HE business woman's good looks are as impor- 
tant and essential to her success as beauty and 
wealth to a society woman. We may dodge 
the issue for a time, and we may prate about 
brains and capacity and all that, but when the 
opportunity offers for a place, other things 
being equal, the best looking of the business 
women applicants will get the position every time. 

It is scarcely necessary to say that a woman in busi- 
ness should dress with some severity. Laces and furbe- 
lows are out of place in an oflBce intended for work. 
Business women meet men on a business footing only, 
during office hours. A man arrayed in evening clothes, 
with white kid gloves upon his hands at his office early 
in the morning, would not be more unbecomingly or 

(374) 



BEAUTY AND HEALTH 375 

absurdly dressed than a woman is with her flounces, laces 
and jewelry. 

Shirt waists, plain linen collars and ties, tailor-made 
skirts and blazers, are the acceptable and proper make-up 
of the business woman's working costume. 

The woman who dresses plainly will have more time 
and money, also, to care for her actual self, both physic- 
ally and mentally. The business woman of moderate 
salary cannot indulge in massage, or even visit a mani- 
cure. She can, however, do much by exquisite personal 
neatness and a nourishing diet, to ward off the ravages of 
time and care. 

First of all she should cultivate a contented spirit. 
Recollect that nothing so soon fixes disagreeable lines 
upon the face as habits of scowling, or facial contortions 
of any description. 

Keep your soul above the petty trials of life. Look 
up, my dear friends, and forward. Above the roughness 
of the earth you will always find a bit of blue some- 
where in the firmament, and if you watch patiently you 
will find a little star of hope trying hard to send you a 
loving little twinkle of encouragement out of the blackest 
night. 

Don't waste your strength in losing your temper over 
small things. We have just so much vital force, each 
one of us. If we waste it over trifles (and a lot of 
strength escapes in each angry word) we will not have it 
for our work or our diversion. 

The business woman of necessity makes but the one toilet 
for the day. She should, on rising, take a full sponge bath, 



B76 HARRIET HUBBARD AYER 

carefully washing her face with hot water and soap if she 
has used a cream or lotion before going to bed — in clear, 
tepid water otherwise. Every particle of soap must be 
washed out and finally the face rinsed in clear, cold water. 
Where a woman is strong enough I heartily advocate the 
cold plunge. Draw the water the night before and there 
will be no shock, and the stimulant of a cold morning 
bath gives tone to the system and stands by one like 
a tonic whose influence is felt all day. A little Lait Vir- 
ginal in the plunge or the rinsing water for the sponge 
bath is also refreshing and invigorating. Five minutes' 
exercise with a pair of light, wooden dumb-bells will mean 
an appetite for breakfast and will cure any disposition to 
morning headache. 

The teeth should be brushed twice before leaving home 
for the day; once on rising and again after breakfast, 
which should be a substantial meal with a cup of good 
English breakfast tea instead of the complexion-destroyer, 
coffee. 

Brush the teeth always up and down. I suggest a sim- 
ple antiseptic dentifrice easily made at home for the first 
brushing, and a very delicious tooth wash for the second. 
Pass a bit of dental silk between the teeth to remove 
every stray particle of food. A business woman's whole 
future may be made or marred by the appearance of her 
mouth when she opens it to speak or smile. 

The business woman should take at least an hour for 
her night toilet which positively requires a full hot bath 
with a brush scrub from head to foot, ten minutes at 
least for brushing and braiding the hair, and a careful 



BEAUTY AND HEALTH 377 

examination of the skin. If the cuticle be inclined to be 
rough a good cream should be gently rubbed into it ; if 
the wrinkles are crowding themselves into prominence 
they must be kneaded and smoothed and coaxed away; if 
there be an ominous little patch of brown just above one 
cheek or a queer discoloration resembling the tiny prints 
of a little brown hand across the tired brow, there is 
no time to lose in applying a lotion which will turn these 
intruders pale and banish them after a little ; if there 
be other blemishes they should be taken account of now, 
The gown should be brushed, collar and cuffs laid out 
and everything put in readiness for there will be no time 
in the morning ; and far from least important of all rule& 
for the business woman to rigorously adhere to is a well- 
ventilated chamber and a scrupulously clean, comfortable 
bed to sleep in. Every working woman that can possible 
do so, even though it costs her a denial of luxury, owes 
herself a sleeping room quite apart, where she can each 
night rest mind and body, and undisturbed for ten long, 
sweet hours refresh her exhausted forces through that 
deep well-earned sleep that is the Heaven-sent reward of 
honest toil, the sleep that does indeed " knit up the raveled 
sleeve of care." 

TOOTH POWDER 

Precipitated chalk 4 ounces. 

Pulverized borax 2 ounces. 

Powdered myrrh 1 ounce. 

Pulverized orris 1 ounce. 

Mix and sift through fine bolting cloth. 



378 



HARRIET HUBBARD AYER 



VIOLET DENTIFRICE OR MOUTH WASH 

Tincture orris 1 ounce. 

Essence white rose 1 ounce. 

Alcohol 1 ounce-, 

Peppermint 20 drops. 

Mix. Pour a few drops into a little water and rinse the mouth 
thoroughly. 








CHAPTER XLIV 
MOTHER AND CHILD 

A mother is a mother still 
The holiest thing alive. 

— Coleridge. 

Y CHILD has a right to be born well and strong 
mentally and physically. 

This should be the constant thought of 
every pregnant woman. 

To bear children is the holiest mission of 
our sex. 

To bring beautiful, noble sons and daugh- 
ters into the world we must live beautiful and noble lives 
ourselves, for it is as true of men and women as of plants 
and trees, "By their fruits ye shall know them." 

To the woman who has a good constitution and has 
learned how to take care of her own mental and physical 
health, maternity has no terrors ; on the contrary, she 
looks forward with pride and joy to the advent of the 
babe, beloved from its conception. 

(379) 




380 HARRIET HUBBARD AYER 

Such a woman, when she learns that she is to bring an 
immortal soul into the world, will consecrate herself anew 
to all that is highest and best within her reach, and will 
observe morally and physically such a high standard of 
mental and physical health that her power of resisting all 
bodily ailments, as well as those of a mental order, will 
be immensely increased and will be imparted to her child. 

The first thing to be done for a newborn baby, when 
it has left the physician's or midwife's hands, is to give it 
a bath. 

• The baby's first bath differs from the succeeding ablu- 
tions for this reason: — 

Newborn babies are more or less covered with a thick, 
white wax-like material that is easier removed by an emol- 
lient than by soap and water. 

Therefore the little one's first toilet should consist of 
an oil bath, olive oil may be used, or vaseline is equally 
effective. 

Apply the oil or vaseline with a bit of old flannel, keep- 
ing the baby well covered during the process. 

Recollect that an infant is very sensitive to cold. 

The Vernix Caseosa, which is the technical name for 
the white substance, will yield to the unguent, and the 
baby, when entirely clean, may be very gently rubbed all 
over with a bit of old, soft linen to remove any superflu- 
ous oil. 

The navel is best dressed with antiseptic absorbent 
cotton in this fashion : — 

Take a bit of cotton about three inches square and 
place it on the left side of the abdomen just above the 




WRONG WAY TO PUT A BABY IN A TUB 




RIGHT WAY TO PUT A BABY IN A TUB 



(381) 




(382) 



SEW THE BABY'S CLOTHES ON 



MOTHER AND CHILD 383 

navel. Lay the remnant of the navel cord upon it v^ith 
its cut end pointing upward and to the left. 

Arrange it so that the absorbent cotton comes under 
the base of the cord, and put another bit of cotton the 
same size over the cord. 

Keep the whole in place by a soft flannel bellyband. 

Flannel bands are better than linen because they main- 
tain an equal temperature, absorb the secretions and emit 
less of the disagreeable odor which accompanies the dress- 
ing of the navel. 

The cord also comes off sooner, frequently as early as 
the fourth day. 

After the cord separates dress the navel with a little 
vaseline, apply more cotton and a fresh band. 

If the navel should form a sort of pouch and protrude 
do not be alarmed. 

Cut a thin slice of cork two inches in diameter, or 
even a piece of pasteboard if you have no cork conven- 
ient. 

Wrap it with several thicknesses of old linen or band- 
age, lay it over the protruding navel and keep it in place 
with the flannel band. 

Newborn babies require only very simple clothing. 

Don't weigh the little stranger down with furbelows 
and frills. 

Knitted silk and wool shirts, barrow coats or foot blan- 
kets, flannel skirts, plenty of napkins and slips, and a soft, 
light cloak and cap are all the little one requires be he 
the child of wealth or humble means, for the first few 
months. 

A.— 20 



384 HARRIET HUBBARD AYER 

Fortunately the long, useless dresses and petticoats 
that formerly were such a burden to mother as well as 
a hindrance and discomfort to the baby have been aban- 
doned. 

I hope it is a long good-bye as well to the low necks 
and short sleeves that in our mothers' days were fashion- 
able and left the poor little baby with its shoulders and 
arms as bare as a modish mother at the end of the cen- 
tury in her opera box. 

Food 

Newborn babies need no artificial food. 

Nature provides for the baby and it needs nothing 
but the laxative secretion which the mother's breast will 
yield at the first invitation from the precious little 
mouth. 

Nurses frequently insist upon feeding a newborn baby, 
but it is a mistake to do so, for when the delivery is nat- 
ural and the mother doing well the baby will get its 
proper nourishment from the breast. 

If for any cause the mother fail to be able to nurse 
the babe a wet nurse is the best substitute. 

The choice of a wet nurse is a serious matter. 

The woman who is to enjoy the privilege of nourish- 
ing your child should be young, healthy, of good repute 
and habits, and cleanly. 

She should be willing to submit to a thorough ex- 
amination by a good physician and also by a dentist. 

It is an outrage to put a poor little defenseless child 
into the arms of a woman with a foul breath and a 



MOTHER AND CHILD 



385 



crime to permit it to be nourished by a foster mother 
whose habits are not chaste and self-respecting. 

The best artificial milk seems to be cream reduced 
and sweetened with sugar and milk. 

No exact rule can be given for this reduction, most 
mothers leave it too rich and the child's stomach is soon 
out of order in consequence. 

General Rules for Feeding 



Age 



First week 

1 to 6 weeks 

6 to 12 weeks and possibly 
to 5th or 6th month 

At 6 months 

At 10 months 



Intervals of 
Feeding 



2 hours 
2% hours 

3 hours 
3 hours 
3 hours 



Average Amount at 
Each Feeding 



1 ounce 

1% to 2 ounces 

3 to 4 ounces 
6 ounces 
8 ounces 



Average Amount 
IN 24 Hours 



10 ounces 

12 to 16 ouncfes 

18 to 24 ounces 
36 ounces 
40 ounces 



The best plan is to let new milk stand from five to 
six hours. 

Take off from the top ; this is what is meant by the 
''top milk.'' Dilute the top milk one half with hot water, 
which should be filtered ; to each pint add one teaspoonful 
of sugar of milk, and one grain of phosphate of lime. 
Microscopical examination has proved that many of the 
infant's prepared foods contain too much starch and too 
little gluten to make them fit for babies, for children have 
not enough saliva to convert starch into sugar. 

The celebrated Dr. Playfair declares that the mor- 
tality following artificial feeding in babies may usually 
be traced to unsuitable food, especially among the poorer 



380 - HARRIET HUBBARD AYER 

classes who imagine that milk alone is insufficient, and 
resort to arrowroot or cornstarch which do not digest 
and create intestinal derangements. 

Barley, on the contrary, contains phosphates which are 
necessary to digestion, and the addition of barley water 
may early be made. 

The following schedule of diet is an excellent one for 
babies brought up by hand: — 

Diet for Babies Brought up by Hand 
first week 

Cream 2 teaspoonfuls. 

Whey 3 teaspoonfuls. 

Water (hot) .... 3 teaspoonfuls. 
Milk sugar . . . . ^ teaspoonful. 

For each feeding ; to be given every two hours from 5 a.m. to 
11 P.M., and in some cases once or twice a night; amounting to twelve 
fluid ounces of food per diem. 

FROM SECOND TO SIXTH WEEK 

Milk 1 tablespoonful. 

Cream 2 teaspoonfuls. 

Milk sugar . . . . ^ teaspoonful. 
Water 2 tablespoonfuls. 

For one portion; to be given every two hours from 5 A. M. to 11 
P.M.; amounting to seventeen fluid ounces of food per diem. 

FROM SIXTH WEEK TO END OF SECOND MONTH 

Milk 2^ tablespoonfuls. 

Cream 1 tablespoonful. 

Milk sugar J teaspoonful. 

Water 2^ tablespoonfuls. 

For each feeding ; to be given every two hours ; amounting to 
thirty fluid ounces per diem. 



MOTHER AND CHILD 387 



FROM BEGINNING OF THIRD MONTH TO SIXTH MONTH 

Milk 5 tablespoonfuls, 

Cream 1 tablespoonful, 

Milk sugar 1 teaspoonful. 

Water 2 tablespoonfuls, 

For each feeding ; to be giv^n every two and a half hours, or 
thirty-two fluid ounces per diem. 

DURING SIXTH MONTH 

Six meals daily, from 6 a. m. to 9 p. m. Morning and midday 
bottles, each : — 

Milk 9 tablespoonfuls. 

Cream 1 tablespoonful. 

Mellin's Food .... 1 teaspoonful. 

Hot water 2 tablespoonfuls. 

Dissolve the Mellin's Food in hot water and stir into the pre- 
viously mixed milk and cream. 

Other bottles, each: — 

Milk 9 tablespoonfuls. 

Cream 1 tablespoonful. 

Milk sugar 1 teaspoonful. 

Water 2 tablespoonfuls. 

This will all equal thirty-six fluid ounces of food in a day. 

During the seventh month increase the supply of Mellin's Food 
to two teaspoonfuls, and give three times daily. 

During eighth and ninth months give five meals daily. The 
first meal, at 7 a. m. should consist of : — 

Milk 13 tablespoonfuls. 

Cream 1 tablespoonful. 

Milk sugar 1 teaspoonful. 

Water 2 tablespoonfuls. 

Second meal at 10 : 30 a. m., should consist of milk, cream and 
water in the same proportion, with one tablespoonful of Mellin's Food. 



388 HARRIET HUBBARD AYER 

Third meal at 2 p. m., same as second. 
Fourth meal at 6 p. ,m., same as second. 
Fifth meal at 10 p. m., same as first. 

This gives forty fluid ounces of food per diem. 

TENTH AND ELEVENTH MONTHS 

First meal at 7 a. m., to consist of: — 

Milk .17 tablespoonfuls. 

Cream ...... 1 tablespoonful. 

Mellin's Food ... 1 tablespoonful. 

Water 2 tablespoonfuls. 

Second meal at 10 : 30 a. m. should consist of a breakfast-cupful of 
warm milk. 

Third meal at 2 p. m. should consist of the yolk of an egg lightly 
boiled, with stale bread crumbs. 

Fourth meal at 6 P. m., same as first. 

Fifth meal at 10 P. m., same as second. 

On alternate days the third meal may consist of a teacupful of 
beef tea containing a few stale bread crumbs. Or mutton, chicken or 
veal broth may be used to vary with the beef tea. 





* i C ILBERT S •?• 



CHAPTER XLV 



MOTHER AND CHILD — Concluded 



We are governed with our mother's spirits. — Julius Caesar. 




BABY should be weaned at the end of the 
first year unless it is very ill from tooth 
catting or the time occurs during very hot 
weather, when it is better to defer weaning 
until the teeth have come or the weather 
is cooler. 

Milk as it exists in the udder of a 
healthy cow is free from any poisonous or dangerous 
substance but during milking and subsequent handling it 
acquires particles of manure and dirt which may set up 
a fermentation or other injurious change. 

Sterilization destroys the activity and possibility for 
harm of these organic impurities. 

In order to sterilize the milk it is necessary to submit 
it to an intense heat under pressure. Very simple imple- 

(389) 



390 HARRIET HUBBARD AYER 

ments may be had at a small cost by the aid of which 
mothers who are away from cities and towns where ster- 
ilized milk is so easily procured nowadays can superin- 
tend the process perfectly and at present the nursery 
sterilizer happily bids fair to be as common in households 
where there are little children, as the sewing machine or 
clothes wringer. 

The best sterilizer of simple apparatus is Arnold's. 

Bathing and Dressing the Baby 

Bathing the baby has always been a source of much 
interest in most households. Scarcely any other rite con- 
nected with His Majesty is as much enjoyed and appreci- 
ated as his bath. And perhaps there is one mother in 
ten who knows how to give the bath properly. Of course 
the bath is a daily performance. 

She who has studied carefully this morning ceremony, 
before the bath begins, gathers all the articles which will 
be needed — a low table — on which the small tub reposes ; 
pure hygienic soap, two wash cloths, needle, linen thread, 
scissors, vaseline, clean clothing, small thermometer, etc. 

The temperature of the room must register about 70 
degrees, Fahr., and the bath should be always at 98 degrees. 
These are two things which she is particularly careful to 
observe. 

Baby is disrobed and placed in the nurse's or mother's 
lap on a warm flannel apron which she wears. He must 
be covered well with part of the flannel to prevent expo- 
sure^ while mamma lathers his little body thoroughly with 






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A PAIR OF OUTSTANDING EARS AND A PUG NOSE 




A LITTLE PUG NOSE IS VERY MUCH LIKE WAX OR PUTTY; YOU CAN GENTLY PRESS A PUG 
INTO A PRETTY LITTLE GREEK 



A BABY'S OUTSTANDING EARS AND A PUG NOSE 



(392) 



MOTHER AND CHILD 393 

a dripping, soapy cloth. After he is well soaped he is 
plunged up to his neck in a tub of clean, warm water, 
another cloth is substituted for the soapy one, and a good 
rinsing is given him. Before the water has had time to 
become chilled the baby is lifted out of the tub and 
wrapped from crown to toe in a warm flannel blanket 
which has a soft linen towel for its lining. Then he is 
gently patted (not rubbed) until every vestige of moisture 
disappears. 

Great care must be devoted to dressing baby. He must 
wear the plainest clothing, and its thickness must be 
evenly distributed, so that no part of his body will be- 
come overheated. Even the charming, little, silk bootees 
are tabooed by the wise mother and long, woolen stock- 
ings substituted, or baby revels in barefooted freedom. 

The old-fashioned method of pinning a young child's 
clothes, or even fastening them with tapes, has been aban- 
doned, and the trained nursemaid now sews baby into his 
garments. Pins make cruel indentions on the delicate 
skin, and tapes are apt to become hard and knotted. 

It is important to know just how to carry a baby. 
Improper handling may result in lifelong invalidism for 
the child. It would seem in these enlightened days that 
ignorance is a poor excuse for unwise treatment of babies, 
yet it is quite common to see a young matron carrying or 
allowing her baby to be carried in a manner which causes 
pain to the average on-looker. 

Never, when carrying a child, or at any other time, 
allow it to bear the weight of its own head. The head 
must be supported, for it is liable to fall over with a jerk 



394 HARRIET HUBBARD AYER 

and dislocate the neck. The head and shoulder blades 
should be supported with one hand, while the other grasps 
the child's feet, or end of his clothing. This forms a per- 
fect hammock and allows no undue pressure on the deli- 
cate organs of his body. Never grasp a baby about the 
waist, as the pressure, no matter how slight, is harmful. 

It is considered unwise to rock a child to sleep. He is 
placed in his little, white, iron crib, roomy and ■ firm, a 
mosquito netting keeps away the flies, and he is left to 
fall asleep. The old-fashioned cradle, with its narrow, 
wooden walls and soft mattresses of unhygienic feathers, 
is a great contrast to the woven wire crib of to-day, and 
certainly the crib is an improvement. 

A great doctor once remarked that bad ventilation de- 
forms more children and destroys more health than acci- 
dent or plague. Baby should never be put to sleep in 
bed or perambulator with the head under the bed clothing, 
to inhale the air already breathed and further contami- 
nated by exhalations from the skin. As well give the 
little one to drink the water first used for a bath. 

Powder no longer has a place in the baby's toilet. It 
dries and cuts the delicate skin and is actually a torture 
when applied to the chapped places, whereas vaseline or 
cold cream are healing and nourish the cuticle. I made 
the discovery when caring for my first baby that the more 
powder I put upon her tender little body the redder and 
sorer the chafed spots were when the powder was washed 
away, so I tried something I thought would be healing. 
It happened to be vaseline, and proved entirely successful. 
I never allowed powder to be used with my other children. 



MOTHER AND CHILD 395 

In dressing an infant great care should be taken not 
to lift or twist his little body. It should be rolled from 
side to side as need be, when putting on the garments, 
but never lifted or turned. 

Although the dietary suggested for babies brought 
up by hand has been greatly improved of late years by 
the various systems for securing pure milk and foods con- 
taining the proper amount of gluten, it is many times not 
the easiest thing in the world to find which one of these 
best suits the idiosyncracies of your baby's stomach. For 
this reason the "bottle-fed" baby may not gain as rapidly 
as the one that is nursed for the first two or three months. 
After that the gain should be quite as regular. By the 
time the " bottle-fed " baby is a year old he has a decided 
advantage of his nursing friend, that about this time 
the entire household is busy weaning. ''Bottle-fed" baby 
is tucked down in his crib with his favorite, nice, warm 
tipple on the pillow beside him, quietly laughing in his 
sleeve at the baby that has to go through the process of 
being weaned. 

It is claimed, and justly, too, that the old-time tube 
nursing bottle is responsible for the deaths of thousands 
of infants. No matter how careful one may be, these 
tubes and arrangements cannot be kept perfectly sweet 
and pure. The model nursing bottle has a plain, well- 
fitting nipple with a very small hole. It is better to buy 
them without holes and puncture with a fine needle, 
heated. If the bottle be held so that the neck is always 
full of milk, air cannot be sucked into the stomach. 



396 HARRIET HUBBARD AYER 

BABY'S Accomplishments 

At four months baby should hold up his head ; at 
five months he should have doubled his weight; at seven 
months he should sit alone ; at between nine and ten 
months old he should bear his weight on his feet, and 
at twelve months give you a proud little grin when you 
let go his hands, hold one finger up to him and say : 
"Now, all alone." When he is fourteen or fifteen months 
old he will walk all over the room and keep you busy 
seeing that he does not take a ''header" out of bed or 
down stairs. But never urge your baby to walk. He will 
do it of his own accord as soon as his bones and muscles 
are strong enough. 

Let baby sleep in his little carriage out of doors if he 
wants to. It is not true that a child takes cold more 
easily when asleep ; on the contrary, he will grow stronger 
and be less liable to take cold. 

In the summer and early autumn baby may be out of 
doors almost any time between seven o'clock in the 
morning and sunset. In the winter, modified somewhat by 
climate, only between ten and eleven o'clock in the morn- 
ing and between two and three o'clock in the afternoon. 
See that the wind does not blow directly in his face, that 
his feet are properly covered and warm and discharge the 
nursery maid on the spot who lets the sun shine down 
into your baby's eyes, whether he is asleep or awake. 

That babies and little children are troubled with weak 
eyes is a great source of uneasiness to young mothers. 
Frequently the fault is their own. A white parasol may 
be pretty, but its effect on the baby's eyes is alarming. 



MOTHER AND CHILD 397 

In choosing a parasol cover be careful that whatever color 
the outside may be, the inside must be dark — preferably 
green. If baby is not made the victim of a white cover 
it is probable that his eyes will not trouble him. 

; A BABY'S Weight and Measurements 

Nothing tells so accurately how the baby is thriving 
as its gain in weight from week to week. Scientific 
men have given such thorough study to the "bottle-fed" 
baby that this tiny development of our modern civiliza- 
tion now stands almost as good a chance as his " mother's 
milk" competitor in the matter of adding a desirable num- 
ber of ounces from week to week to his weight. 

At birth the average boy baby weighs 7^ pounds ; is 20^ 
inches high ; chest 13^ inches ; head 14 inches. Girls 
weigh about a pound less. They are about the same 
height. At one year a baby should weigh about twenty 
and a half pounds, at two, twenty-six and a half, at three, 
thirty-one, at four, thirty-five, at five, forty-one. 

During the first six months weigh your baby (with- 
out clothes) every week. During the next six months, at 
least every two weeks. At first baby will probably lose 
from four to eight ounces, after which he should steadily 
gain from four to eight ounces a week up to the time he 
is six months old. Now baby will begin the troublesome 
job of cutting his teeth, which will cut his gaining in two 
in the middle. But in spite of teeth he should take on 
from two to four ounces of weight each week. If he 
does not do this there is something wrong with his food, 
his airings or bathings. 



398 HARRIET HUBBARD AYER 



BABY'S Good Looks 



We are all of us prone to discourse on the beauties 
of childhood, and truly there is nothing more charming 
than the features of lovely infancy. 

We recall instantly the little child with eyes so gen- 
tle, so fearless and affectionate, and that reflect our every 
emotion. We smile at the dimpled faces, the chubby lit- 
tle forms of the babies whom we know, but occasionally 
we see a little child who is a positive distortion of in- 
fancy, and perhaps we wonder only that babyhood can 
be so unattractive. 

I happen to know a little child may be physically 
trained into great beauty, even with the most meager 
equipment, and every time I see a little tot with hideously 
outstanding ears, I long to reach its mother and beg her 
to make sightly features of these almost monstrous and 
unnecessary deformities. 

There is no sense in permitting a child to grow up 
with aural appenda looking like oyster shells rudely at- 
tached to the sides of the head. 

Nothing destroys the symmetry of the head as these 
outstanding and distorted ears. 

No girl can grow up to be a beautiful maiden, no boy 
can ever be at his best, whose ears are literally de- 
formities. 

Beginning with the day of its birth a baby's ears 
should receive attention. If the nurse understand her 
profession, she will take care always to see that the 
little ear is folded back against the side of the head, 





'■^IWt'X^ 




(400) 



A PERFECTLY GROOMED BABY 



MOTHER AND CHILD 401 

when the infant reclines upon one side. When the baby 
lies upon its back she will see that even the softest 
pillow does not press the ear out from the side of the 
head. 

Such care as this will always result in a prettily 
formed ear lying close to the head, as nature intended. 

Where the child has been neglected in infancy it takes 
more time, and it takes more skill to coax the ear into 
the habit of lying close to the head. 

For this purpose the skeleton earcap was devised 
about fifteen years ago, and is in almost universal use in 
England. 

This little cap may be purchased for a trifle, or an 
ingenious mother may make one of straps of linen tape 
held together by bits of elastic tape which allows the 
necessary flexibility. 

It is conceded that a straight nose comes nearer to 
the accepted standard of beauty than any other, and a 
flat pug nose is certainly very ugly. If mothers and 
nurses will but take heed, there need be no pug-nosed 
children. 

It is a curious fact, but one which will be corrobo- 
rated by all who pay attention to the matter, that persons 
with upturned noses invariably use their handkerchiefs 
with an upward flourish, whenever they have occasion to 
use them at all, and that those with turned down noses 
cultivate the very opposite manner of handkerchief eti- 
quette. Now nothing can be much uglier than the first 
mentioned habit, also nothing so potent in helping the 
pug to do its worst. 



402 HARRIET HUBBARD AYER 

Now the nose may be really modeled if the baby to 
whom it belongs is caught early enough. 

A baby's nose is very much like a bit of putty. It 
has no bone, and it will respond to pressure, daily applied 
of a very wise and knowing thumb and forefinger. 
There is not a mother in the universe who cannot make 
a nice, straight, little nose out of the most hopeless baby 
pug if she will several times a day, by the means of the 
thumb and forefinger, press the diminutive organ into the 
shape it should have. 

The baby whose picture has been used to illustrate 
this article had the slimmest excuse for a nose I have 
ever seen, but I produced on this unhappy infant's coun- 
tenance in the course of two years, and that was longer 
than it usually takes, a very respectable, nice, little nose. 

Frequently I see a child with a one-sided, lumpy head, 
and I know that I have before me a poor little creature 
who has been robbed of his birthright, physical sym- 
metry. 

Many infants present themselves to a more or less 
admiring family on the occasion of their first appearance, 
with distressingly distorted and bumpy heads. There are 
physical reasons for these eccentric looking little pates, 
and Nature will assert her authority without other assist- 
ance in most cases. Occasionally the little head fails to 
acquire a proper roundness, and then the hands of the 
mother or nurse should assist in smoothing away the 
unnatural and disfiguring lumps. 

Where the head is long and narrow and one-sided, a 
gentle pressure of the hands with a movement from the 



MOTHER AND CHILD 403 

chin to the top of the head will often repair this distor- 
tion in a few weeks' time. 

The pressure should be firm, never hard, and never 
painful to the infant. 

The human countenance is of very flexible material and 
little children who are allowed to make grimaces very 
soon show the effect of facial lines that later on destroy 
the harmony and beauty of the countenance. 

One cannot begin too early to oppose and counteract 
all such habits in children. (See also Chapter XXV.) 

So far as the mouth is concerned the form of this feat- 
ure depends greatly upon the care bestowed upon the teeth 
in babyhood. It is never too soon to begin to take care 
of a child's mouth, and it is well for mothers to under- 
stand that a baby's teeth require brushing and rinsing^ 
and were never intended to be removed by decay. 

A child should shed its first baby teeth at about the 
eighth year, and if they have been properly cared for 
these little teeth should drop out without a defective 
speck on any of them. 

If the early teeth are looked after they will serve 
until the jaws are sufficiently grown and strong to pro- 
duce teeth capable of doing service for a lifetime, and 
these teeth will come in regular and beautiful, unless 
there is some inherited defect either in the formation of 
the jaw, or the failure of some of the chemical con- 
stituents. 

A.— 21 



404 HARRIET HUBBARD AYER 

TREATMENT FOR SCALD HEAD 

Wash the little head each night before bedtime with a pure 
soap, rinse and dry it with a soft towel, then apply the pomade 
made as follows : — 

Resorcin 4 grains. 

Lanolin 8 grains. 

Vaseline 8 grains. 

Let the ointment remain on all night, wash it away in the morn- 
ing with pure soap and repeat the application of the unguent if neces- 
sary. Usually it suffices to anoint the head all night only. 

If the baby be troubled with what is called ^'prickly 
heat," perhaps you dress him too warmly. Try loosen- 
ing his clothing and also making it a trifle lighter. Dis- 
solve a small teaspoonful of bicarbonate of soda in his 
bath. This is excellent. You might also bathe the affected 
parts with diluted witch hazel, using a soft linen cloth or 
velvet sponge. 





CHAPTER XLVI 

HOW TO READ CHARACTER FROM 
THE FEATURES 

Love first learned in a lady's eyes. — Love's Labor Lost 




KNOW it is the custom of many unthinking persons 
to jest at the assumption, so called, of the physiog- 
nomist. I have a thousand and one times been 
laughed to scorn when I have declared that a cer- 
tain man or woman was not to be trusted because 
he or she had deceitful eyes and a retreating chin, 
and I have frequently heard the unbelievers de- 
clare that such or such a horse was a wicked-looking 
beast, or a good-tempered looking one. 

No man alive who ever dealt in dogs but believes the 
signs of ugliness in their muzzles will be carried out in 
their behavior. If a brute — an unthinking, soulless brute 
— will in his actions bear out the facial signs for ugliness 
or good temper, why not a man or a woman? 

(405) 



406 HARRIET HUBBARD AYER 

When you judge a woman's or even a man's character 
it is not fair to condemn or exalt the subject because one 
feature is bad or another beautiful. The face as a whole 
must be considered. For example, a receding forehead is 
a facial sign for mental weakness, but a strong chin will 
redeem the receding brow. 

There are certain well-defined types of features that 
infallibly stand for well-recognized characteristics. When 
a man selects a wife he always, unless the matter be 
purely one of finance, is under the impression that she 
has a good face. 

The face of a good woman need not be always the 
face of a beauty. It must, however, have one or two of 
the strong signs of integrity and loyalty. 

The Mouth 

First of all, beware of the rosebud mouth ; the mouth 
that is so tiny; the mouth that is formed after the good 
old patterns of the ancients, who gave their Yenuses the 
mouths that were of the rosebud order, and fit only for 
the fickle devotees of an inconstant goddess. Women with 
rosebud mouths are usually vain, frivolous and untruthful. 

On the other hand, the larger mouth, with full, well- 
proportioned lips, which when closed form almost a hori- 
zontal line with the corners, neither elevated nor de- 
pressed, is the indication of truthfulness, loyalty, firmness 
and justice. This is the mouth for a man to tie to. 

The conceited mouth has a short upper lip. When you 
see such a mouth you may make up your mind that the 




MARY ANDERSON NAVARRO'S LITTLE SON 



(4(J7) 



HOW TO READ CHARACTER 409 

surest way to gain the good will of its possessor is to 
flatter her. 

The gossip's mouth is wide, with downward curves at 
the corners. It is found on the faces of persons who tell 
you disagreeable things about your common acquaintances, 
as well as of your immediate family. Women .with gos- 
siping lines will neglect every duty in life for the sake of 
setting out with a fresh budget of scandal. 

The Teeth 

A woman with fairly harmonious features and a double 
set of perfect, regular and pearl-white teeth freely and 
frankly displayed in laughing, is fairly certain to be a 
creature of remarkable mental balance. 

Such teeth accompany unusual endowments, the chief 
drawback in the make-up of the subject, particularly if she 
have the smiling habit, being a lack of firmness. 

Women of tremendous resolution, concentration and 
fixity of purpose have a habit of closing the lips and 
showing very little of the teeth, even when they smile. 

When you see a pretty girl with rather short, square 
teeth which have wide spaces between them, set her down as 
fickle, for these are the teeth of constitutional inconstancy. 

Girls with long, narrow teeth are rarely strong phys- 
ically. Consumptives who have inherited pulmonary 
troubles almost always have these long, narrow, frail 
teeth. When the upper teeth and jaw noticeably project 
over the lower the indications are for a rather elementary 
mind and an uncertain temper. 



410 HARRIET HUBBARD AYER 

Women with these teeth are not, properly speaking, 
ill-tempered. They are generous and often fundamentally 
good-natured, but once they are roused — well, it is wise 
to give them the floor and to maintain a discreet silence. 

Irregular teeth that look like tangled kernels of an 
ear of corn are the index of a badly balanced nature. 

When you see a girl whose teeth naturally curve from 
the gum margin in toward the mouth you can wager 
anything you like she is prudent about money matters. 

Women with uneven teeth, those which project or 
recede noticeably, are uneven in disposition also, and more 
developed in the passions than intellectually. Of course 
the form of the circle of the teeth must naturally repeat 
the form of the jawbone, and the girl with a generous 
mouth, which her family calls big, may console herself by 
the knowledge that, according to face readers, a broad 
mouth, full of white, even, normal-sized teeth, with jaws 
that meet exactly or nearly so, surely betokens a mind 
with a broad grasp and a generous, even temper, but 
rather careless nature. 

The girl with the happy-go-lucky teeth exemplifies this 
type. She is the girl who gets taken in and imposed 
upon right and left, but she smiles and forgives and never 
learns that the world is hard and selfish, no matter how 
long she lives. 

The Chin 

A woman's chin is also a telltale feature. People with 
small, weak, receding chins rarely have much will power. 
This type is also called treacherous. Its possessor would 




'•^ooocoooo* 



HOW TO READ CHARACTER 413 

be deceitful and disloyal because she would not have the 
strength of will to be anything else. 

A round and rather full, well-formed chin denotes a 
sweet, yielding temper. 

A pointed, projecting chin betokens avarice. When 
the subject has also a long, hooked nose you have two of 
the characteristically facial signs of the miser. ' 

A square chin of good size, with an indentation in the 
center, is the accompaniment of a firm, capable nature. 
Its owner will not, perhaps, be quite so gentle as the girl 
with the round chin, but other things being equal, she 
will be more of a helpmeet. 

The Nose 

Personally I am much impressed by the indications of 
the nose. For example, the nose of the conqueror, which 
is the aquiline, is found upon the faces of most of the 
great warriors. Napoleon had such a nose; so had Wel- 
lington. 

The Greek nose, which forms a straight line from base 
to tip, is considered the perfect nose. It indicates a gen- 
tle, peaceable nature, with a love of the beautiful — of the 
arts and of home. The Greek nose does not belong to 
the most forcible type of womanhood, but Greek-nosed 
women rarely are quarrelsome, and with a good, moder- 
ately large mouth, a Greek-nosed woman will usually prove 
a treasure. 

Alas for the snubs, for they are usually found upon 
the faces of cruel women. I do not refer to the nez 



414 HARRIET HUBBARD AYER 

retrousse, which is just tip-tilted enough to be saucy, but 
to the real snub which is flattened upon the face. 

Look out for the snub nose every time, but if you 
happen to strike it in conjunction with a small rosebud 
mouth, round nearsighted eyes and tiny shell-like ears, 
flee for your life, for you have encountered the incarna- 
tion of perfidy and cold, treacherous cruelty. 

The Roman nose is a good one. It is called the nose 
of wealth, and in its exaggerated forms it indicates a tend- 
ency to avarice. If you want a prudent wife, one who 
will be saving and thrifty, select the girl whose nose has 
a little hump on it. She will have more at the end of 
twenty years, though she started out empty-handed. 

The Eye 

No feature of the face is more self-assertive than the 
eye. 

Large, round, wide-open eyes are a sign of amiability 
and gentleness in young girls, but always indicate a very 
childlike and undeveloped character. When these eyes 
are clear and luminous it is a sign of great trustfulness. 

These women remain childlike always — or if they 
grow worldly wise and suspicious their eyes narrow per- 
ceptibly during the process. 

Protruding eyes are a sure sign of a good memory, so 
it will be well for the summer man who is not in ear- 
nest not to commit himself. Just consider that the girl 
with the slightly bulging orbs is usually very clever 
mentally, capable of strong emotions and possessed of a 



HOW TO READ CHARACTER 415 

memory that makes her a terror to the youth who desires 
to be forgotten. 

The girl with deep-seated eyes is rarely to be found 
with the merry, laughing throng of mischief-loving young 
women that haunt the hotel piazzas of the watering 
places. When she is discovered she is often alone with 
her thoughts, which are somber frequently, as her com- 
panions. She is introspective, and the man who becomes 
her slave will have to answer an entire series of ques- 
tions upon the good, the true and the beautiful to say 
nothing of the muchness of the much and the greatness 
of the small. The maid with the deep-set eyes is in dead 
earnest. She takes herself very hard. There is no non- 
sense about her. Be warned in time. 

The long, narrow. Oriental-eyed girl is a variation of 
the summer girl, who is also to be handled as a parcel 
marked "With care; glass." She is charming and her 
timid, oblique, dreamy but watchful expression means 
everything on the list but that condition of inertia that 
comes before dreams with ordinary mortals. 

The long-eyed girl is suspicious — she is charming, but 
oh! she is jealous, and I advise her swain to give her no 
cause to distrust him, else she will make life such a bur- 
den as it hath not entered into the joyous soul of the in- 
experienced summer youth to conceive of. 

The eye of the coquette scarcely needs description. It 
is in evidence every moment of the day and every second 
of the first half of the night, wherever men and women 
congregate. It may be round or long, wide or narrow. 
It is never tranquil. Its possessor is "making eyes" every 



416 HARRIET HUBBARD AYER 

moment of her life. She may make them to your un- 
doing. You may love her with all the strength of your 
being, but you will be very foolish if you trust her. She 
gives a shy glance and looks down. 

" Beware, beware ! She is fooling thee ! " 



The Eyebrows 

A woman's eyebrows indicate sentimentality when they 
are narrow and drop at the outward corners. They are 
humorous when they are arched toward the extremity, 
credulous when the arch is nearer the nose, and suspicious 
or even malicious when they are very thick, heavy and 
meet at the nose. 

The Ear 

The ear is a significant feature and a great telltale. 
The aesthetic ear is small and shell-like, beautifully chis- 
eled. A flabby, long, narrow ear is a sign of humility 
and weakness. On the other hand, the steadfast, coura- 
geous ear is of medium size, oval in shape, and well defined 
in its convolutions. The lobe is detached and the ear is 
set moderately low upon the head. The gossip's ear is 
large, is usually strongly curved at the upper part and 
is set rather low upon the head. 

By these signs, not taken separately, but collectively, 
balancing a weak point by the strength of a powerful 
feature, you cannot fail to detect the characteristics of 
your own or some one else's sweetheart, 



„joo? 



O ifOO^^'OC^ Q 




CHAPTER XLVIl 



EMACIATION 



I am but a shado-w. — Shakespeare. 




EMiNiNE beauty is not compatible with either 
extreme stoutness or emaciation. The fat 
woman is repellent because all the contours 
of beauty are gone ; the hollow-cheeked, an- 
gular, flat-chested woman cannot be really 
physically lovely either, but the grossness of 
obesity is certainly more to be deplored than 
the cadaverous condition of emaciation. The path which 
leads to flesh is one of roses compared to the road which 
the corpulent must tread, as you will see. There are a 
number of causes of emaciation ; sometimes the tendency 
is inherited, and if there be a chronic organic disease, such 
as consumption, or an inherited scrofulous disease, the 
directions I have to give can only avail to a certain 
point; but for the ordinary, everyday too thin woman 

(417) 



418 HARRIET HUBBARD AYER 

there is a certain and sure cure. First of all, plenty of 
fresh air, for, paradoxical as it may appear, the very rule 
by which fat women are to burn up their superfluous 
adipose tissue, is the method by which the thin ones must 
increase their muscular strength and put themselves in a 
condition to assimilate the food which is to produce the 
fat. Let all the thin women obey the following rules, 
and unless they have some chronic ailment, I will stake 
my reputation on the result : — 

Helpful Suggestions 

On arising or while you are still in bed, if convenient, 
drink a glass of milk. Practice with your dumb-bells for 
not more than five minutes, and dress leisurely, don't al- 
low yourself to get nervous ; no one ever gains any time 
by it, and many women have absolutely chiseled lines 
into their faces in the nervous contractions of the mus- 
cles about the brow, eyes and mouth from too violent 
''hustling." It is just as important that a thin woman 
should wear her clothing loose as for a fat woman not 
to draw herself into an inadequate compass. Have your 
clothing not only loose, but also light in weight, with lots 
of spare space about the chest and shoulders. 

For breakfast, if you are dependent upon your coffee, 
drink it with as much cream or milk and sugar as you 
can without its being distasteful to you; if you can do 
so without too much sacrifice (for I know how most 
women depend on their morning coffee) substitute cocoa 
or chocolate. Make your first meal of oatmeal or any 



EMACIATION 419 

other palatable cereal, baked potatoes with butter and 
cream, bread and butter, fruit, anything containing starch 
or sugar. You are to avoid meats as much as possible ; 
a bit of juicy steak or a broiled chop will not hurt you, 
but it will not bring you either fat or weight. Many 
very thin people are troubled with dyspepsia, and, of 
course, if your food is not properly digested it cannot 
make blood or muscle. Dyspepsia is a frequent cause of 
emaciation. 

When Nerves are Irritable 

For nervous dyspepsia with a tendency to hysteria, 
from which many emaciated women suffer, take any one 
of the well-indorsed liquid peptonoids according to direc- 
tion. Your druggist will be able to supply you. And 
for the indigestion which causes red face after eating or 
blotches on the face, the following : — 

Tincture of nux vomica, five drops in water before each meal. 
Subgallate of bismuth, five drops after each meal. 

If your food trouble you, so that it will not always re- 
main in your stomach, but produces faintness and retch- 
ing, eat a little at a time and eat often. Try for this form 
of dyspepsia the following : — 

Aromatic spirits of ammonia, one teaspoonful in a wineglass of 
water half an hour before eating, three times daily. 

The digestive organs may be weakened by not giving 
them enough to do, quite as effectively as by overworking 
them. Many very thin people are very quick and nervous 



420 HARRIET HUBBARD AYER 

in their movements ; they are a,lways in haste. Try to 
cultivate laziness and eat as slowly as possible. Sugar is 
the most effective of all fatteners. So you may indulge 
your liking for sweets if it exist, and if not you must try 
to form a taste for food containing sugar. 

After your breakfast get ready for a nice, long walk; 
if it be a possible thing let your companion be a bright 
and cheerful creature, or a merry little child, for low 
spirits are thieves lying in wait to ruin your digestion, to 
carve lines and wrinkles in your face and to upset my 
best endeavors to make you plump and pretty. Try to 
recollect that the old saw ''Laugh and grow fat" was like 
all the other proverbs founded on a truism. It is trite but 
none the less a fact, that laughter will aid digestion and 
assimilation of food and induce the sort of fatigue we are 
striving for which is followed by a delicious hour or more 
of tissue-repairing indolence. With your clothing loose, 
your feet shod in comfortable, flat-heeled shoes, you start 
forth on your promenade which may properly be called a 
constitutional. Throw your shoulders back, close your 
mouth and take as long and deep breaths as possible. 
Keep your head up, your chin well forward, and if you 
walk where it will not attract too much attention, do so 
with your hands clasped behind your back. I should like 
you for your personal satisfaction to get weighed and have 
your chest measured before entering upon the fat-producing 
regime. It will be most interesting to you to watch your 
progress by the infallible tests of weight and measure- 
ments. Do not walk until you are tired and nervous and 
irritable ; an hour to commence with is quite suflBcient. 



EMACIATION 421 

Now, if you are a woman of leisure, take a warm bath 
on your return, and after it anoint the entire body with 
the following skin food: — 

CATHAY SKIN FOOD 

Melt together over a warm bath. 

White wax 2 drachms. 

Spermaceti 2 drachms. 

Lanolin 2 ounces. 

Oil of sweet almonds ... 4 ounces. 

Balsam of Mecca 3 drachms. 

Oil of ro&es ( attar ) . . . .10 drops. 

This skin food will nourish the impoverished cuticle. 
Rub it in so you are not left in a greasy condition and 
then go to your room and lie down for a rest of an hour 
or more; sleep if you can, but in any case rest. If you 
are hungry take a glass of milk or a bottle of koumiss, 
which may be obtained at the apothecary's. Of course 
where one has a family one can not give up the morning 
hours to a bath and nap. Substitute the same directions 
for the late afternoon or delay the bath and anointing un- 
til just before retiring — but in this case try and get an 
undisturbed hour or two during the day for absolute rest 
away from noise and free from interruption. Many very 
lean women are inclined to melancholia. With such a 
tendency you should make the strongest effort to cultivate 
cheerfulness. You will never get round and pretty while 
you allow yourself to be low spirited. Choose bright, joy- 
ous companions and avoid every morbid association, not 
only with people, but books and plays — even music, if too 
sad, is unhealthful for you. Let our fat, jolly sisters steady 



422 HARRIET HUBBARD AYER 

themselves a little by contact with the sadder side of life. 
Take five minutes' exercise with dumb-bells before lunch- 
eon. For luncheon you may follow your own fancy, only 
abstaining from tea or coffee, substituting milk, or a min- 
eral water, if you prefer, and choosing such vegetables as 
peas, beans, potatoes, eggplant and green corn, in preference 
to cucumbers, salads, turnips, cauliflowers, etc. All farina- 
ceous foods are good for yoa if you find them palatable. 
Eat freely of oatmeal, wheat foods, rice, hominy, corn meal 
and fruits with cream and sugar. 

The Right Sort of Exercise 

In the afternoon you should take some exercise — 
horseback riding, tennis, rowing, bicycling or more walk- 
ing, and an hour of rest again if possible. Recollect you 
are cultivating idleness, you are to make a duty of being 
lazy. If you are in the habit of doing fine needlework I 
wish you would cease for a time. I find the art-embroid- 
ery craze accountable for many crow's-feet and for a 
nervous condition which is incompatible with a woman's 
beauty. Thin women are usually very busy and active, 
and to be positively idle is a real pain to them — but con- 
tent yourself for the present with some coarser work ; and 
those of you who are so happy as to live away from the 
wear and tear of city life can surely do a bit of garden- 
ing or other out-of-door work. It often happens that very 
thin women are really half starved ; they have no appetite 
and in consequence no strength, no ambition, no courage, 
nothing but frayed-out nerves and a threadbare temper. If 
you have a dislike for food you must take a good tonic. 



EMACIATION 423 

A GOOD TONIC 

Gentian root 2 ounces. 

Bitter oranges, sliced . . . . 1 ounce. 
Virginia snake root ..... ^ ounce. 

Bruise, and infuse for four days in 1 pint of brandy; then add 
1 pint of water. A wineglassful to be taken occasionally. This is 
also excellent for flatulency. 

Lessons in elocution or singing will be of great bene- 
fit to the narrow-chested woman, and where the emacia- 
tion is progressive and there is a cough, with a bright 
flush in the afternoon, send immediately for one of the 
emulsions of cod-liver oil, Scott's is the standard, and 
take it according to directions. I have arrested many 
cases of emaciation with a tendency to consumption by a 
good emulsion of cod-liver oil and proper voice culture. 
For dinner you may eat oysters or clams, soups, fish, rare 
meats, vegetables except those proscribed, sauces, entrees, 
sweets and fruits. You may drink beer, porter, stout, 
Burgundy or a little sweet champagne — always in mod- 
eration — but unless you have been in the habit of taking 
something of the kind at dinner, I do not advise stimu- 
lants, as they frequently interfere with the digestive pro- 
cesses and often are the cause of truly hideous skin 
diseases. Moreover it is far more charming to see our 
women total abstainers, to say nothing of the moral side 
of the question. Avoid all trying work or reading by 
artificial light. Before retiring you will of course take 
your warm bath and scrub — without reference to the 
bath here advised in the morning. Sleep all you can. 
Arrange your life so that you will get the most rest for 

A.— 22 



424 



HARRIET HUBBARD AYER 



your body and mind possible. Cultivate calmness and 
placidity and determine to disprove the old English ax- 
iom that "A sweet temper and a bony woman never 
dwell under the same roof." 

Now, dear reader, you may have been so distressingly 
thin for so many years that you have come to consider 
emaciation your normal condition and have settled down 
to go through life, a shadow. You have given up hope, if 
you ever had any, of holding up your head in the pres- 
ence of your plump, well-rounded sisters and when you 
read what I have written you say, perhaps with a sigh, 
*'That may be all very well for some, but not for me'' 
or, if more sceptical still, you exclaim in sarcastic tem- 
per, "It may do in theory but it won't work in actual 
experience." Take heart then, for this treatment is for 
you and you can test it for yourself with every assurance 
of success. And do not credit me with having evolved 
a fine-spun theory of no value in practice. It has been 
tried with most remarkable results and in cases so des- 
perate as to baffle the doctors, in proof of which I beg 
you to read the story of Catherine Lane which follows. 
(See Appendix A, page 456.) 




()iira'» 




CHAPTER XLVIII 



OBESITY 



O, that this too, too solid flesh would melt. — Romeo and Juliet. 



<HE reverse of emaciation is obesity. If there be 
a choice between obesity and leanness it is dis- 
tinctly on the side of the latter condition, and 
most of us would prefer to be bony to carry- 
ing an excess of flesh. It is much easier, also, 
I have found, to acquire flesh than to get 
rid of it. 
There is no royal road to beauty, nor, indeed, to any 
other very desirable state of being, and the reduction of 
fat, while easily enough accomplished, all things being rel- 
ative, requires perseverance and self-denial. 




Treating Fat Scientifically 



Fat is an accumulation of unburnt body fuse — in other 
words, fat is carbon, and carbon is consumed by oxygen 



(425) 



426 HARRIET HUBBARD AYER 

which we inhale through our lungs. To put this into still 
plainer English, physical exercise will, we all know, re- 
duce flesh — the reason is that in unusual exercise, such as 
rapid walking, horseback riding, gymnastics or bicycling, 
the blood is more rapidly oxygenated and the result is 
the destruction or burning out of the fat. You may have 
noticed that great walkers are never fat, and that people 
who live in high altitudes and in mountainous countries, 
where they walk a great deal and consume quantities of 
oxygen, are always slim. There are all sorts of systems 
and theories respecting the reduction of flesh. 

Some Flesh-Reducing Methods 

A quarter of a century ago an Englishman named 
Banting made himself famous and his name the synonym for 
flesh-reducing by the publication of a pamphlet, which may 
still be purchased, giving in detail the history of his own 
case, and telling the means by which he reduced his weight 
from 202 to 150 pounds in one year. Mr. Banting for 
seven years maintained his weight at 150 pounds. He 
lived on beef, mutton, fish, bacon, dry toast and biscuit, 
poultry, game, tea, coffee, claret and sherry, and abstained 
from pork, veal, salmon, sugar, milk, all vegetables grown 
underground, and all fatty and farinaceous substances. 
Mr. Banting, however, consumed daily about forty-three 
ounces of liquid. There is no question about the success 
of the Banting system, for thosQ who wish to try it, but 
there are very few people possessed of the originator's 
self-denial and persistency. 



OBESITY 427 

Dr. Schweninger, the famous German physician, who 
has established his reputation as a flesh-reducer through 
his success in ridding Prince Bismarck of forty pounds 
avoirdupois in three months without the slightest delete- 
rious effect upon his distinguished patient's physical con- 
dition, restricts the consumption of liquids at all times, 
and deprives the patient entirely of all fluids during or 
within an hour of meals; forbids starch and sugar and 
advises most heroic physical exercise. This is a sure cure 
and for the Man of Iron not difficult, but for the average 
American woman the Schweninger method would be mar- 
tyrdom. Dr. Say recommends the drinking of large quan- 
tities of hot tea, but Professor Oertel goes to the other 
extreme, for he not only deprives his patients of the 
pleasure of allaying thirst when agreeable, but insists 
upon diminishing the fluids in the body by a regime 
which would be to most of us a most exhausting one, as 
it consists of a systematic sweating process. I heartily 
disprove of this plan as it cannot fail to be weakening 
and depressing, and fatal to beauty. Dr. Ebstein published 
a pamphlet some years ago recommending fatty food and 
sauces containing fat on the homeopathic principle of 
*'like cures like.'' Alas! for those who tried this method, 
which resulted in some cases in a gain of flesh to the 
extent of three pounds a week. Dr. Saulsbury has been 
quite successful as far as the actual reduction of flesh is 
concerned by his system of a diet strictly limited to un- 
done meats, principally beef, dry toasts and hot water. 
His patients certainly get thin, but it is a species of mar- 
tyrdom which I have found unnecessary, as the same 



428 



HARRIET HUBBARD AYER 



result may be accomplished more agreeably and with a 
far better effect upon the complexion. The proper weight 
for various heights is acknowledged to be as follows: — 

. 120 pounds. 
. 126 pounds. 
. 133 pounds. 
. 136 pounds. 
. 142 pounds. 
. 145 pounds. 
. 149 pounds. 
. 155 pounds. 
. 162 pounds. 
. 169 pounds. 
. 174 pounds. 
. 178 pounds. 



Five 


feet 


1 


inch . 


Five 


feet 


2 


inches 


Five 


feet 


3 


inches 


Five 


feet 


4 


inches 


Five 


feet 


5 


inches 


Five 


feet 


6 


inches 


Five 


feet 


7 


inches 


Five 


feet 


8 


inches 


Five 


feet 


9 


inches 


Five feet 10 inches 


Five feet 11 


inches 


Six feet 


. 


. 



How TO Meet the Enemy 

Most women begin to get too stout at about thirty — 
sometimes a little earlier, but in such cases there is usually 
an inherited tendency. Frequently the subjects are of in- 
dolent natures, though women who are of sedentary habits 
and of extreme mental activity also are inclined to obesity. 
Many literary women, compelled to sit the greater part of 
their waking lives, are often great sufferers from fat. I 
have never failed to reduce the flesh of those who would 
follow my directions, and with the system I advise there 
is not, as in most cases, the discouraging outlook of 
wrinkles in place of fat. 

Sleep, want of physical exercise, sugar and starch are, 
in my opinion, the most formidable of flesh-producers. I 
will promise to reduce your weight from four to twelve 
pounds a month, without exhaustion, without drugs, with- 



OBESITY 429 

out the flabbiness which is so frequently the result of 
flesh reducing, particularly when induced by drugs. You 
will find the relief from the burden of flesh so delight- 
ful, and the pleasure of life so increased, ag you approach 
a normal condition of health (for too much fat is a dis- 
ease) that you will be more than repaid for the effort I 
am bound to say you must make. Courage, therefore ; 
"what is worth having is worth fighting for," and first of 
all please to get weighed. You must limit your hours of 
sleep to seven at the outside — and no siestas during the 
day. Seven is a lucky number and a very good hour to 
quit your bed for the day. If you are in the habit of 
taking a cold sponge bath in the morning all the better; 
it is stimulating, and while I do not advise it for delicate 
women, it is healthful for those who are robust, and in 
such cases is certainly invigorating. 

Regulating the Diet 

Practice a few moments with your dumb-bells before 
breakfast, and at that meal abstain from potatoes, all 
kinds of hot wheat breads, but eat any ripe fruit you 
may like, with a wedge or two of dry toast, and a good- 
sized bit of underdone steak or mutton. Sprinkle a little 
salt on your toast and you will find it does very well 
instead of butter ; in fact, you will very soon find you are 
getting on without a thought of butter, which you must 
not eat. You may drink tea or coffee and in each case 
sweeten the liquid with a saccharine tablet (1 grain), 
which you may purchase at any apothecary's. The tab- 



430 HARRIET HUBBARD AYER 

lets are put up in small bottles containing about twenty- 
five each. One cup of tea or coffee must sufBce. Use 
only sufficient milk to make your beverage palatable, and 
if it is not a real privation to you, wholly dispense with 
coffee or tea ; it will hasten the flesh-reducing. I do not 
insist upon this because it is in many cases a real hard- 
ship to be deprived of one's cup of tea or coffee at break- 
fast. You may also eat raw tomatoes, sliced cucumbers, 
radishes or cresses in season with your breakfast, but you 
must omit oil from the salad dressing. 

Suitable Clothing 

After breakfast, rain or shine, you must exercise. If 
possible take a good long walk — and before you go forth 
on this walk let me beseech you to loosen your corsets if 
you have been in the deplorable habit of wearing them 
tightly laced. Provide yourself with large, easy, broad- 
soled shoes coming well up about your ankles loosely 
laced. Never mind how they look ; get shoes at least 
bwo sizes larger than any you have ever worn hitherto, 
with flat heels. If your heart fail you think of the im- 
mortal Trilby and of those heelless, large and easy shoes 
of hers and be comforted. Begin by a walk of two 
miles — get into the country if you possibly can, and if 
not a city park is the next best thing — go some place 
where at this relatively early hour you can walk for ex- 
ercise only and without regard for the conventionalities 
of fashionable streets. 

Keep your mouth closed while walking and learn to 
breathe, if you have not yet acquired the habit, from the 



OBESITY 431 

diaphragm — deep breathing, as it is called. It consists in 
drawing the breath deeply and slowly. By this process a 
great deal more oxygen is taken into the lungs, and it is 
pure oxygen we are looking to as a great factor in our 
treatment for obesity. Deep breathing has a most won- 
derful effect in hardening the muscles of the abdomen 
also, and in decreasing its size. You will get purer air 
away from the dusty and too often filthy streets, which is 
another argument for the country and the parks. Rising 
at seven, breakfasting about eight, you should be at home 
again by eleven and about your ordinary occupations. 
Luncheon should consist of fruit, toast, eggs in any form, 
underdone meats and almost any vegetable that does not 
contain starch. For example, peas, potatoes, corn and 
beans all are starchy, so you must give them up, but you 
still have a varied and delightful menu in fruits, sal- 
ads, cabbage, tomatoes, cucumbers, eggplant, turnips and 
squash. You need not fear starvation. 

It Is Encouraging to Weigh 

Weigh yourself twenty-four hours after you begin this 
treatment and you will find you have already lost flesh. 
If you can ride horseback do so by all means, and for 
getting rid of flesh about the hips there is no exercise so 
effective as bicycling. If you have no horse and no 
wheel there is nothing for it but walking and gymnas- 
tics. You can accomplish the same results ; the process 
may not be quite so diverting, but you will succeed if 
you will but be persistent, Bodily exercise is of the 



432 HARRIET HUBBARD AYER 

greatest importance in the obesity cure and if you will 
exercise courageously you will have no wrinkles where 
the flesh was and wrinkles are enemies to good looks. 
An hour or two of brisk exercise in the afternoon — prac- 
tically about the same restrictions in the choice of food 
for dinner. If you are in the custom of drinking wine at 
dinner choose either a light claret or white wine. You 
must not drink either champagnes or any sweet wines or 
liquors ; you may drink a little black coffee after dinner, 
but you must eat no sweets at dessert. In place of mas- 
sage, which is, despite all protests to the contrary, an aid 
to flesh forming, once each day rub your arms, your 
cheeks, and the soft flesh under the chin briskly but not 
so forcibly as to bruise, and afterwards apply the follow- 
ing excellent tonic lotion prescribed by Doctor James and 
indorsed by the celebrated hygienist, Monin, as wonder- 
fully efficacious for preventing the formation of wrin- 
kles : — 

LOTION FOR PREVENTING WRINKLES 

Rose water. ...... 200 grammes. 

(Thick) milk of almonds . . 50 grammes. 
Sulphate of aluminium ... 4 grammes. 

Dissolve thoroughly and filter ; keep in stoppered bottles. 

Keep a record of your weight. You can easily regu- 
late the decrease in flesh not only by your diet, but by 
the exercise you take. Of course, it is understood that 
once in twenty-four hours you take a full bath and scrub 
as an essential to cleanliness and to keep the pores of the 
skin free and open, 



OBESITY 4S3 

If what I have here written arouses in the breast of 
any woman suffering from an excess of adipose tissue, a 
gleam of hope that her condition may be relieved, let not 
that gleam, however feeble, die out for lack of ambition 
to fan it into flame. It is the tendency of stout people 
to eat, sleep and let things drift along. They lose one- 
half the enjoyment of life by being " cabined, cribbed, 
confined, bound up" in a blanket of fat, and when that 
blanket presses too closely upon the vital organs, life is 
slowly smothered, until, at last, the light goes out. There- 
fore if the treatment outlined were theory only it is well 
worth trial. How much the more so, then, when you 
have my most sincere assurance that it is not a mere 
empty fad, but an accomplished scientific fact. You can 
try it for yourself and you will be benefited the very first 
day, and so with the second and third. You can actually 
see and feel your way as did Mrs. Baker, whose experience 
is related in Appendix B, page 477. 





CHAPTER XLIX 



COSMETICS 



I -will give out divers schedules of my beauty. — Twelfth Night. 




AM always a bit amused when anathemas are hurled 
at the present use of cosmetics, particularly when 
a hopelessly-soured and pitilessly-unattractive fe- 
male or a blatant, tobacco-smoking, spirituously- 
odorous male addresses me on the subject. I read 
from time to time of the untold millions we 
women are spending annually for our paints and 
powders, and of all the good we might do were we not 
so given over to vanity and deceit. I have been assured 
by men who should know, if experience go for anything, 
that no good woman at any time of the world ever 
painted her face. I have had Jezebel thrown at me with 
a pertinent verse of Scripture attached, and with such 
spite that one would think I personally am accountable 
for that most trying woman and had given her the 

(434) 



COSMETICS 435 

formulas for the paints and eye darkeners she adorned 
herself with before going out to the capture of King 
Jehu. 

As a matter of actual fact, whatever one's opinion may 
be as to the morale of the question, cosmetics have been 
used both by good and bad women as far back as we can 
learn anything of the personal customs of the sex, just as 
wine has been drunk by priests and sots, by gentlemen 
and cads, and will be used and abused so long as men 
and wine exist. 

I am not an advocate of indiscriminate painting of the 
face, of hair dyeing or bleaching, because all are usually 
unpleasant and perceptibly artificial and unbecoming in 
their results, but I certainly think a woman should be 
her own judge in the matter, and the subject is one she 
is entirely competent to study for herself without mascu- 
line interference or dictation. Moreover, I never knew a 
woman who, if she chose, could not deceive the keenest 
eye of man on this point. It is always another woman 
who first tells a man that her sister uses artificial color 
or stains her hair. 

There are times in a woman's life, when, if she be wise, 
she will attempt to repair the damage of years and care. 
When a wife sees a haggard-looking ghost of herself re- 
flected from her mirror, when perhaps she is painfully 
conscious that the eyes she loves best are turning from 
her faded beauty to a less worthy object, then I think she 
is not only justified in delicately simulating, by every aid 
known to cosmetic art, the charms she has lost, but she 
is stupid not to do so. It is the plain, unadorned, weary 



436 HARRIET HUBBARD AYER 

and too natural woman whose husband invariably falls a 
victim to the wiles of a Delilah, or succumbs to the arti- 
ficial charms of a Jezebel. The very man who will almost 
fall in a fit at the sight of toilet powder in his wife's 
dressing room, will break her heart and waste his sub- 
stance in the worship of a peroxide or regenerator Titian- 
red blonde. 

Let a premium be placed on sallow-faced, pale-lipped, 
dull, thin-haired women in the devotion and loyalty of 
the other sex, and the trade of the cosmetic artist will 
soon become a matter of ancient history. 

The question is then : " Shall we use cosmetics, and 
when ? " After she has passed her thirtieth birthday every 
woman must answer this for herself. It is the veriest non- 
sense for any one to assume that a good woman has never 
used paint and powder. You and I have only to go back 
to our ancestors to discover that not so many genera- 
tions away, our grandmammas rouged, powdered and wore 
patches, fine, virtuous and splendid they were indeed, and 
some of them were even of that magnificent band of her- 
oines who superbly walked to the scaffold — martyrs to 
their patriotism and high principles. Paint and powder 
did not make them less virtuous because they were in 
common usage. 

Without undertaking to discuss the question of cos- 
metics from any moral standpoint at all, I give it as my 
personal opinion that it is the greatest of mistakes for a 
girl or woman under thirty, except in unusual cases, to re- 
sort to the practice, even to the extent of using a face- 
powder. 



COSMETICS 437 

My reason for this opinion is that all cosmetics are 
unbecoming to youthful faces, and that artifice jars upon 
us when associated with the springtime of life. 

After thirty — well, it all depends. Some women retain 
a youthful and lovely complexion even long after the fif- 
tieth birthday ; but the excitement, the tension of modern 
life, the wear and tear of maternity, the never-ending grind 
of society, all are potent factors in robbing our American 
beauty of her bloom, and they give her frequently a hag- 
gard sort of pallor which quite destroys her fine appearance. 

Women are like flowers and beautiful out-of-door pic- 
tures — all delicacy and grace, with an atmosphere ol 
spring or summer or autumn emanating from them — each 
lovely at its appropriate time, that is, when they are as 
Nature intended them. 

The faded little wife in her really touching effort to 
retain her husband's admiration or to win him from an 
unworthy rival, may with safety use the least little bit of 
finest powder for her face ; she may carefully brush the 
delicate eyebrows after the slightest possible touch of vase- 
line to restore their luster. She may bathe her lips with 
an aromatic toilet water, which will bring the color to 
them, so that when she smiles her rather wan, little face 
will be transfigured by the contrast between the pretty 
lips and the entrancing row of double pearls. Shie should 
attend to every point of herself with scrupulous exactness. 
Every part of her dress should be irreproachable, for noth- 
ing so accentuates fading beauty as carelessness. 

The cosmetics here referred to are about all that can 
be safely used and imperceptibly, for daylight, and, with a 



438 HARRIET HUBBARD AYER 

veil selected for its becoming spots, the result will be an 
appearance of freshness most attractive. But in any case, 
a sweet and modest woman should be careful to an ex- 
treme degree in using artificial expedients during the day- 
time. The manifestly made-up woman is too atrocious a 
blot on the landscape to even discuss. 

At night, for the home-dinner, as well as for opera 
and ball, the artificial light makes it possible for a 
woman to literally put on her war paint, and the make- 
up here suggested is intended for evening and to bear 
the glare of electric lights. 

Instead of an enamel, which always gives the face a 
porcelain look, a delicate liquid powder is first applied to 
the face, neck and arms. This preparation is called the 
liquid whitener. It is made as follows : — 

LIQUID WHITENER 

Water, previously boiled and strained . . 1 quart 

Alcohol 30 drops. 

Oxide of zinc 1 ounce. 

Bichloride of mercury 8 grains. 

Glycerine 20 drops. 

Take 4 ounces of water and heat it to boiling point ; dissolve 
the bichloride of mercury in this hot water ; add the alcohol. Mix 
the zinc and glycerine together in a bowl ; pour the larger portion 
of the quart of water in ; scir, then add the diluted bichloride of 
mercury and alcohol. Bottle and shake always before using. Apply 
the liquid with a small, soft, velvet sponge. This liquid should be 
wiped off with a chamois skin before it has had time to dry, or it 
will appear streaky. 

No woman can do this for herself. If the wash be 
evenly spread and dried properly, it is reallj^ impercepti- 



COSMETICS 439 

ble. There is a danger in doing it without assistance of 
missing ever so small a section of the skin, and this is 
fatal. 

A little color for the cheeks (the finest French rouge 
powder or liquid should be used for this purpose), the 
slightest touch of the eyebrow pencil to the eyelids and 
eyebrows, a faint addition to the color of the lips, stolen 
from a stick of French grenadine, as it is called, and, last 
of all, a very little powder (formula for which I give) all 
applied in the strongest glare, of daylight — this sort of 
make-up is positively imperceptible at night, and is, be- 
yond question, wonderfully becoming. 

WHITE FACE-POWDER 

Finest cornstarch 1 ounce. 

Pure oxide of zinc (best quality) . . 3 ounces. 

Mix thoroughly and sift through verj fine bolting silk ; reject 
all that remains in the bolting ; sift the second time through another 
bit of bolting silk ; perfume with three drops of oil of roses. 

It is very difficult to make a satisfactory rouge at 
home. I give formulas, but I must say the ingredients are 
frequently adulterated or of inferior quality. Therefore I 
advise the imported article. 

FORMULA FOR ROUGE 

Finely bolted talc 4 ounces. 

Carmine 2 drachms. 

Make a solution of gum tragacanth and warm water — a very lit- 
tle only is required. Mix the talc and carmine first well together, 
and sift ; add enough of the diluted gum tragacanth to form into 
a smooth paste ; allow it to dry ; apply with a hare's foot to the 
face. 

A.— 23 



440 



HARRIET HUBBARD AYER 



The eyebrow pencil may be purchased from any dealer 
in toilet articles. It is made in three shades — black, dark 
brown and blond. 

LIQUID ROUGE 

Liquid rouge, if of a very fine quality, may be used in prefer- 
ence to the rouge fard. It is made by dissolving pure rouge (car- 
thamin), which is acidulated with a solution of acetic acid. 





^:^^^^.;; 





CHAPTER L 



PERFUMES 



Like the bee, culling from every flower 
The virtuous sweets. — Henry IV. 




N THIS progressive and aggressive age, it is a singular 
fact that the art of the perfumer has not funda- 
mentally changed, and it is greatly to be doubted 
if our oils and pomades to-day excel the precious 
ointments of Araby the blest, hundreds of years 
back. We still are obliged to catch the odor of a 
bloom in fat, and to distill our choicest perfumes 
from these heavily flower-impregnated ''pomades" as they 
are termed. 

These are the oils which were well called "precious" 
in the days of Moses, and the science of their composition 
was taught by the High Priests to the Egyptian scholars. 
Indeed the Bible and its commentaries contain numerous 
rules for the making of perfumes, and an essential to every 

(441) 



442 HARRIET HUBBARD AYER 

form of purification was the burning of a prescribed quan- 
tity of precious oils and incense. 

At one time the Roman Church made so great a use 
of perfumes in the various ceremonials, that she had 
large tracts of land in Syria and other Oriental provinces 
expressly for the cultivation of flowers for oils. 

We are forever being told of our extravagance in these 
days of the degringolade, but there is always a precedent in 
history. What should we think to-day of a king who 
would expend the year's growth in blossoms for the fu- 
neral of his wife? Nero did this at the death of his wife 
Poppsea. 

As I have said, the only way to permanently hold a 
flower odor is to imprison it in fat. Once caught in oil 
or suet, you may keep it captive until you choose to re- 
lease it through distillation and expansion. Extracts will 
evaporate, and are not reliable. 

If you will study any of the list of odors advertised^by 
the great perfuming houses of France, you will indeed 
find an emharras de richesse in the fifty or sixty extracts 
or essences offered you. Every flower is represented, and 
dozens of proper and invented names are added to swell 
the number of delicate perfumes from which the pur- 
chaser may select. 

It is a well-known fact, however, that there are only 
six or eight flowers which yield oils, and that the per- 
fumer must make combinations from these to imitate the 
odors of all other flowers. This may be properly called 
the artistic side of perfumery. The French perfumer ex- 
cels in this delicate part of the science, studying similar- 



PERFUMES 44S 

ities and aflBnities and shades as the artist does the colors 
of his skies, or the blending of his materials in the blush 
of the rose. 

If you are going to endeavor to distill your own per- 
fumes, I should recommend that you purchase your po- 
made or essential oil from a first-class importing house. 
The essential oils or pomades are very costly, but you 
will bear in mind that an ounce of pomade of first quality 
will make at least sixteen ounces of very strong extract. 
The method is simple enough. Suppose you purchase, for 
example, one ounce of oil of roses. Take one pint of 
pure alcohol — above proof — mix the oil of roses with it 
in a clean bottle. Place the bottle in a vessel of hot 
water until the contents acquire a temperature of about 
85° Fahrenheit. Then cork the bottle quite close ; shake 
it briskly until the liquid is cold. You will have a most 
delicious and very strong odor as a result, which will im- 
prove with age just as good wine does. A few drops of 
this perfume will be all you can, with good taste, use at 
a time. 

If you wish, however, to make a pomade from the 
natural flower you certainly can succeed, but it requires a 
good deal of skill, infinite patience and some utensils, and, 
inasmuch as pomades are the despair of many would-be 
perfumers, I do not advise their manufacture by the ama- 
teur, although I give a formula. 

You will have to purchase from a dealer in perfumers' 
supplies a series of shallow, iron frames, adapted for piling 
on each other, and fitting close together. A piece of 
white, spongy, cotton cloth is stretched upon each, and is 



444 HARRIET HUBBARD AYER 

then freely moistened with oil of almonds, olives or ben. 
On the cloth is then laid a thin layer of the freshly-plucked 
flowers, and each frame, as thus covered, is placed on a 
preceding one, until a compact pile of them is raised. In 
twenty-four to thirty hours the flowers are replaced by 
fresh ones ; and this is repeated every day, or every other 
day, until seven or eight different lots of flowers have 
been consumed, or the oil has become sufficiently charged 
with their odor. The cotton cloths are then carefully col- 
lected and submitted to powerful pressure, and the '^ex- 
pressed oil" which flows from them is placed aside in 
corked bottles or jars, to settle. After some time it be- 
comes perfectly clear, and is then ready to be decanted 
into other bottles, and kept for distilling. 

The best flowers for the above purpose in America are 
violet, honeysuckle, tuberose, jonquil, jasmine, narcissus, 
orange flowers and myrtle blossoms. 

An exquisite essence of rose may be made as follows : — 

EXTRACT ESSENCE OF ROSE 

Take of petals of roses (fresh) 3 pounds (avoirdupois) ; and rectified 
spirits (90 per cent.) 5 imperial quarts ; digest the petals (picked to 
pieces) in the spirits for 24 hours, then distill to dryness by the heat of 
a water bath. Digest the distillate (product of distillation) on a fresh 
quantity of rose petals, and redistill as before ; and repeat the whole 
process of maceration and distillation a third, fourth, fifth and sixth time, 
or oftener, the last time observing to conduct the distillation rapidly, 
and to draw over only 1 gallon, which is the essence, delicately and 
delightfully fragrant. It improves by age. The product of the above 
recipe is very superior. 

The most successful odors are, in the language of the 
perfumer, '' bouquets," that is to say, made up of a combina- 



PERFUMES 445 

tion. Frangipani, for example, is made up of half-a-dozen 
odors, and the handkerchief extract known as '' Peau 
d'Espagne" is composed of frangipani and patchouly, half- 
and-half. The greatest care should be taken in making 
bouquets or you will waste a lot of expensive materials 
and get only a most offensive result. 

Some odors, as my instructor once said to me, are like 
musical sounds — they harmonize and produce a beautiful 
compound ; others are antagonistic, and you can get noth- 
ing but discord from their combination. 

In making a bouquet of flower odors, it is sometimes 
apparently impossible to get any defined result until what 
is called a "binder" is used, then the whole is caught and 
the result will be in the hands of a skillful artist, delicious 
indeed. My old instructor in Paris long ago explained all 
this to us in a most delightful way. ''The flower odors," 
he would say, '' are of an exquisitely delicate texture, like 
the finest paper of the leaves of a dainty love story ; each 
leaf represents a breath of perfume ; they will all fly 
away or get confused and hopelessly entangled without a 
binding. So we bind the flower odors with a stronger 
substance — musk, which is taken from the deer — or am- 
bergris, which comes from the whale — just as the book- 
binder holds the leaves of the tender story, which would 
be lost if left unfettered, with a leather or paper strong 
enough to fasten all together." 

It is a curious fact that the inorganic world has never 
yet, properly speaking, yielded a single perfume. The few 
perfumes such as musk, ambergris and civet, which are ob- 
tained from the animal kingdom, are not of themselves 



446 HARRIET HUBBARD AYER 

agreeable. They are extremely necessary in holding and 
sustaining flower odors, but alone they are not at all to 
be compared to the perfume of any one of many flowers. 
Lavender water is a delicate and essentially cleanly 
odor, delicious for the bath, and preferred by many to bay 
rum or Florida water. I give formulas for all three to 
choose from. 

LAVENDER TOILET WATER 

Take 2 ounces (avoirdupois) finest oil of lavender (Mitcham) ; 
essence of musk (finest), 1 imperial fluid ounce ; essence of ambergris 
(finest) and oil of bergamot (recent), of each ^ ounce ; rectified spirits 
(90 per cent, scentless), ^ gallon ; mix by agitation. 

FLORIDA WATER 

Take 2 drachms each of the oils of lavender, bergamot and lemon; 

1 drachm each of tincture of turmeric and oil of neroli ; 30 drops oil of 
balm and 10 drops oil of roses. Mix the above with two pints of de- 
odorized alcohol. 

WEST INDIA BAY RUM 

Take 2 pounds of leaves of the mjrtus acris, ^ pound cardamons, 

2 ounces cassia, 1^ ounces cloves and 9 quarts rum. Distill 1^ gallons. 
Bay rum may be colored with tincture of saffron or with a mixture of 
equal parts caramel and tincture turmeric. 

The perfume of the violet is so delicate that I have 
known women who used it in some form every step of the 
toilet — bath, cosmetics, sachets, all redolent of the lovely 
blue flower, and yet were never overpoweringly fragant, 
which is really to be, in my opinion, most offensively vul- 
gar. I should always select violet or the most delicate 
heliotrope for a personal perfume. It is in far better taste 
for a woman to use but one odor at a time — that is to 



PERFUMES 447 

say, to use violet, if that be her choice, for her handker- 
chief extract, toilet water, sachets, etc., and not to mix 
this perfume with Peau d'Espagne or White Rose. 

Speaking of Peau d'Espagne reminds me of the vogue 
accorded leather odors a few years since. I remember 
one woman who had Russian leather sewed in the crown 
of her bonnets and an inner sole made of the precious 
stuff for her dancing shoes. 

Peau d'Espagne is much more agreeable and enduring 
than simple Russian leather. It is made of the same 
pelt, but is cured in sugar and musk. The real Peau 
d'Espagne is to be procured only from one firm in 
Europe, and is very expensive — one dozen little squares 
costing ten dollars. It has the advantage of retaining its 
delicate fragrance for a long, long time. Sachet powders 
for perfuming sachets are readily made at home. The 
most fastidious woman frequently confines herself to the 
perfumes from dry powders of this nature, and considers 
a liquid extract too pronounced and consequently vulgar. 
Flannel heavily impregnated with perfume may now be 
obtained in Europe. This flannel is cut in small bits and 
distributed among one's belongings, giving all a delicious 
and delicate odor. 

The sachets are now made of all sizes and suitable for 
every article of dress as well as for closets, wardrobes 
and bureau drawers. A closet sachet is really an entire 
lining for the closet of wadded silk into which a quantity 
of the sweet-scented powder has been introduced. A cor- 
set sachet is the other extreme in size, and is but a tiny 
scrap of silk and cotton wool, fragrant with violet or helio- 
trope, and measuring but an inch in width and perhaps 



448 , HARRIET HUBBARD AYER 

two in length. It is sewed inside the corset. Sachets for 
dress skirts and bodices are made of a proper length and 
form for the garment they are to impregnate with per- 
fume. As soon as the skirt and bodice of the fashionable 
woman have been brushed and repaired after wearing, the 
sachets are fastened inside the bodice and skirt and left 
to perform their fragrant mission until my lady elects to 
wear them again. 

Many w^omen are quite expert in making sachet pow- 
ders from the flowers ; others fail disastrously and suc- 
ceed only in obtaining a half-decayed odor which is far 
from agreeable. The secret is in the combination and in 
using a "binder'' which develops and holds the flower 
odors in a bouquet. You cannot fail to make a delicious 
sachet powder if you take a little pains, and carefully fol- 
low the directions here given. It is as well, unless you 
are very skillful, not to try experiments. 

Rose leaves and petals of other flowers should be thor- 
oughly dried for sachet powders. Take care not to let 
them gather mold in the process. 

You will require a basis for your sachet powder. I 
prefer orris myself, but the reindeer moss, carefully picked 
over, dried and pulverized, is a favorite with many. Here 
is a delicious sachet powder : — 

ROSE SACHET POWDER 

Powdered florentine orris ... 8 ounces. 

Rose leaves (air dried) ... 10 ounces. 

Musk in powder 20 grains. 

Lavender flowers 2 ounces. 

Civet 10 grains. 

Mix well and keep closelj corked until you wish to use for the 
sachets. 



PERFUMES 449 

VIOLET SACHET POWDER 

Powdered orris 1 pound. 

Powdered bergamot peel . . J ounce. 

Powdered acacia ^ ounce. 

Musk 20 grains. 

Orris alone is much used as a sachet powder — it is 
always far better to add a little musk to it, as the 
musk holds the perfume. 

The odor from the orris root is greatly affected by many 
fastidious French women, and it is quite a common prac- 
tice to throw an orris root necklace into the final water 
used in washing the linen of the Parisienne elegante. 

It is said that one French woman, upon being reproached 
by her confessor for her extravagance in this direction, re- 
plied that if she were going to perdition she intended 
to go smelling of orris, and she said she thought even 
his Satanic Majesty would find it pleasanter than sulphur. 

Heliotrope sachet powder is delicate and lasting. I 
really feel bound to say here that there is no sachet 
powder and no perfume once placed in contact with the 
air which can, as many women insist various powders 
and odors do, "last forever." Just as soon as, to use a 
vulgarism, we can eat and keep our pudding, we shall 
be able to set free a delicious odor and at the same 
time hold it captive. Heat expands the odor and it 
passes away, dying in delicious fragrance. Logically, you 
can no more keep the perfume than you can both keep 
a chocolate drop and eat it too. Lock them both in a 
box, and you are their master. You would never think of 
railing against the chocolate drop that disappears when 



450 HARRIET HUBBARD AYER 

eaten, but wno has not heard the complaint against the 
perfumes that were perfectly delicious, you know, but did 
not last 

Many women enjoy the perfume of incense, or sweet- 
scented pastilles. The incense of the church is composed 
as follows : — 

INCENSE 

Olibanum (true) 7 ounces. 

Gum benzoin 2 ounces. 

Mix and add 

Cascarilla 1 ounce. 

Burn in a censer or on a hot plate. 

FORMULA FOR SWEET-SCENTED PASTILLES FOR BURNING 

Dissolve j ounce niter in ^ pint water ; mix this with ^ pound willow 
charcoal and dry it thoroughly in a warm place. When the nitrated 
charcoal is perfectly dry, pour upon it a mixture of ^ drachm each of 
the attars of thyme, caraway, rose, lavender, cloves and santal ; then stir 
in 6 ounces benzoic acid (flowers of benzoin) ; mix thoroughly through 
a sieve, then beat in a mortar, with sufficient mucilage to bind together. 
Make into pastilles and dry. 

The competition in colognes has been keen for years 
and years. At the time of the last Paris exposition a 
certain well-known trade magazine offered as a prize for 
the best formula — competition open to chemists and per- 
fumers of all countries — a trip to Paris, with hotel accom- 
modations in that city for eight days and return, all 
first class, to the person who should send the best sample 
bottle of cologne with formula. There were 219 com- 
petitors. The samples were carefully tested by a jury 



PERFUMES 451 

of eminent perfumers, and the following formula received 
the coveted award : — 



COLOGNE WATER 



Essence of bergamot 
Essence of citron 
Essence of neroli 
Essence of origan . 
Essence of romarin . 
Orange flower water 
Triple distilled alcohol 



8 grammes. 

4 grammes. 

20 drops. 

6 drops. 

20 drops. 

30 grammes. 

578 cubes. 



The following are the formulas of the most popular 
and the highest-priced smelling-salts to be purchased. 



LAVENDER SMELLING-SALTS 

Carbonate of ammonia (cut in squares) . 8 ounces. 

Oil of lavender (Mitcham) ^ ounce. 

Oil of bergamot . ^ ounce. 

Oil of cloves 1 fluid ounce. 

Oil of cassia ^ fluid ounce. 

Mix and rub the oils well together. Put the squares of ammonia 
into your smelling bottle. Pour enough of the mixture over the salts 
to scantily cover them. 

ROSE SMELLING-SALTS 

Oil of bergamot 2 fluid ounces. 

Oil of verbena J ounce. 

Attar of roses 2 drachms. 

Mix and pour over squares of carbonate of ammonia as above. 

An extract of pink which was a very fashionable odor 
a few years ago, was manufactured in the laboratory where 
I was a student. There was not a particle of real pink in 



452 



HARRIET HUBBARD AYER 



it. The perfume was a most excellent imitation of the 
flower odor and was made as follows : — 



EXTRACT OF PINK 



Extract of rose . . . . 
Extract of orange flower . 
Extract of acacia flower 
Extract of vanilla . 
Essence of cloves 



6 ounces. 

3 ounces. 

3 ounces. 
56 grammes. 
10 drops. 



HELIOTROPE SACHET POWDER 
Iris powder 2 pounds. 



Powdered rose leaves . 
Tonka beans (in powder) 
Vanilla husks 
Musk in grains 
Essence of almonds 

Mix it and pass through a large sieve 



1 pound. 
6 ounces. 
3 ounces. 

2 drachms. 
5 drops. 



There is very little true violet extract upon the mar- 
ket, as the oil is so difficult to obtain, and tons of violet 
waters and extracts are annually manufactured which 
have not a drop of real violet extract in them, but are 
made of orris root. Fictitious extract of violet is easily 
made at home. 



FORMULA FOR FICTITIOUS VIOLET WATER 

Take of florentine orris root ( coarsely powdered ), one and one-half 
pounds ; rectified spirits, one imperial quart ; let it stand for a fort- 
night. If possible, the orris root should be put under powerful pres- 
sure to obtain the full amount of perfume which it contains. It must 
be filtered several times. Filtering paper is easily obtained at a 
druggists. 



PERFUMES 453 

There is no such thing as heliotrope odor made from 
the flower. All so-called heliotrope extracts and waters 
are produced from the vanilla bean as a basis. 

Potpourri of rose leaves may be prepared according 
to the following directions : Gather the rose petals early 
in the day, as soon as the dew is dried from them. 
When half a peck is collected, pack down in a jar or 
bowl, with alternate layers of fine table salt. Cover the 
vessel with a top or plate that fits closely. Every twenty- 
four hours remove the cover from the jar and stir the 
contents up well from the bottom. This should be done 
each day for a week, at the end of which time three 
ounces of allspice may be added. Mix and stir the 
mass each morning for three days more, adding every day 
a quarter of an ounce each of allspice and ground cin- 
namon. Turn the potpourri into the ornamental jar in 
which it is to be kept, and stir into it the following in- 
gredients, all coarsely powdered : One ounce each of cloves, 
cinnamon, nutmeg, mace, allspice, orange peel, lemon peel, 
anise seed and root. To the mixture may now be added 
six grains of oil of rose geranium, of lavender, rosemary 
and any other essential oil that is liked. The potpourri 
must be allowed to stand for a month to ripen after it is 
made. Except when the jar is opened to allow the odor to 
perfume the house, it must always be kept tightly closed. 

The Abuse of Perfumes 

Some of us, in these days of artificial musk and suffo- 
cating rose, who have stifled in theater and have been 



454 HARRIET HUBBARD AYER 

overcome in cable cars and restaurants by the heaviness, 
have fervently wished the promiscuous use of these pow- 
erful, enervating and sometimes nauseating odors, might 
be restricted to the boudoirs and drawing rooms whose 
queens elect to vulgarize all their surroundings by this 
and kindred extravagance. 

Fastidious women (with here and there an exception) 
are as delicately refined in their selection of sweet odors 
as in every other personal appointment. A high-bred 
woman does not associate herself with musk or patchouly. 
She may select the most delicate of violet extracts, and 
so assimilate her personality with the flower as always to 
recall it, or her linen may be fragrant with the faintest 
odor of fliorentine orris. The shadow of the clear pungent 
lavender may precede her, but the most sensitive and 
refined women shrink intuitively from the odors that 
attract the parvenu. 

Few people outside the scientific world know the hy- 
gienic valuo as well as the danger lurking in flower scents. 
The effect of musk, rose saffron and almond flowers is al- 
most hypnotic to some sensitive organizations. To others 
the heavy odors are like strains of sensuous music and in 
their results the reverse of elevating. Hysteria is inevi- 
tably aggravated and frequently caused by the odor of musk, 
and the use of this perfume should be forbidden delicate 
girls and woman. 

On the other hand, the effect of the odors yielded by 
the balsams of Peru and Mecca, benzoin tolu, cascarilla and 
cinnamon are tonic and invigorating. The perfumes pos- 
sessing real antiseptic qualities are numerous, and it is 



PERFUMES 455 

an acknowledged fact that until the Egyptians abandoned 
the practice of purifying the houses of the sick and em- 
balming the dead by the use of aromatic and resinous 
gums, such as storax, myrrh, cedar, origanum, etc., the ter- 
rible pestilence never laid the Nile country waste. 

It is said that the following aromatic essences will kill 
bacteria germs in typhoid : Clove, verveine, thyme, sandal, 
cedar, ceylon, cinnamon, camomile, anise ; and lavender 
water, according to Monin, the great French hygienist, 
will, if used freely by the attendants, greatly lessen the 
danger of contracting contagious maladies. 

A.--24 





APPENDIX A 



HOW CATHERINE LANE, A HUMAN WRECK, WAS RESTORED TO HEALTH 
AND BEAUTY WITHOUT DRUGS OR STIMULANTS OF ANY KIND. 




HAVE many times declared that the preservation of a woman's 
beauty to an indefinite period of life was merely a question 
of hygiene — a knowledge of the laws that govern health 
and beauty, and a persistent practice of these rules. 

I have said that, except in cases where there was an 
organic disease of a wasting nature, there need be no such 
thing as old age, and that a woman should be at the height 
of her beauty even at fifty. Some time ago, while delivering 
a lecture, I practically repeated my convictions on this sub- 
ject, and I also said at this time that I had no patience with a pre- 
mature loss of beauty in a woman unless she were an afllicted 
creature, forced to bear the destruction of her loveliness through an 
internal and incurable disorder. I said, moreover, that I was pre- 
pared to demonstrate my theory that a woman whose beauty had 
vanished, if she were willing to do so, could be made over again, 
could get back her physical loveliness, and that she could be made 
strong and charming, buoyant and blythe by hygienic and common- 
sense methods. 

I did not then suspect that in a neighboring city there wa3 a 
young creature, a few years back a charming example of girlish 
beauty, who, the day she read in the Sunday World of my lecture, 
(456) 



APPENDIX- %• 457 

was an absolute physical- \^reck — a girl of twenty-four, broken down 
from overwork and care, a mere shadow of her former self, with 
every vestige of vernal charm lost in the traces of pain that marked 
each emaciated feature. 

So, however, it was that Miss Catherine Lane of Philadelphia, 
smiled sadly as she read my words, and, turning to her mother, said ; 
" I have tried everything else. I wish I could see Mrs. Ayer, and 
see if she thinks I could get well and find out what she could do 
or advise me to do." But Philadelphia is a long way from New 
York to a sick girl, and the settled despair that comes from con- 
tinued suffering soon submerged the momentary gleam of hope that 
had flashed through the young mind. 

Not so with her mother. By the next post I received a long 
letter from Mrs. Cornelia Lane, telling me of the sad wreck of her 
daughter's career, and asking me if I thought, under the circum- 
stances, anything could really be done for her. 

The sufferer's story was not a common one. It was the history 
of a singularly bright and pretty girl, gifted with dramatic talent 
which found expression when the time came for a daughter to aid 
a mother in earning a living for an entire family whose head had 
suddenly been stricken with paralysis. She secured a theatrical en- 
gagement, making a quiet and continuous success. She played two 
years at one metropolitan theater, a year in England, supporting a 
prominent tragedian, then took first place in stock companies on the 
road, appearing in eleven performances a week, with a change of pro- 
gram every seventh day. This kind of life she led for several years. 
Then came a gradual breaking-down in health, a failure to appear 
now and then because of sheer physical inability, loss of position, 
mental anxiety added to physical weakness, until at twenty-four the 
child who had been the family prop from her seventeenth year was 
a woman prematurely old, an absolute wreck, emaciated to a painful 
degree, every trace of beauty gone, and slowly dying, to all appear- 
ances. 

I was very much impressed with this letter from a broken-hearted 
mother, and submitted it to the Sunday JVorld. To my intense and 
happy surprise, I found the letter evoked the same pity in the jSun- 
day World. I was told to see the girl, and to give my candid opin- 
ion as to the possibility of restoring her health, I was told that if, 



458 HARRIET HUBBARD AYER 

after examining the young woman, I felt there was one chance of 
her being cured and brought back to her old self, the Sunday 
JV^orld would furnish the ways and means for such a beneficent end. 

So, trembling between fear and hope, I went to Philadelphia to 
Miss Lane's home. I found the saddest young creature in Catherine 
Lane I ever gazed upon. Tall, slight as a wraith, emaciated to such 
an extent that it was heartbreaking even to watch her; a blond young 
creature, with a great aureole of natural fluffy hair falling about a 
face which seemed all eyes and cheek bones. My heart sank at the 
sight of that face. It revived a very little as I caught a certain power 
of will in the gentle voice that bade me welcome. I talked with the 
girl and her mother, discovered that according to her physicians, and 
she had been treated by many eminent specialists, she was suffering 
from no organic disease, but that she had been for four years an abso- 
lute martyr to chronic nervous dyspepsia in a form so obstinate that 
it had defied medicines and numberless methods of treatment. 

Then I gave up. Nervous dyspepsia, the most cruel of maladies 
and the most difficult to conquer ! But I looked at Catherine Lane, 
and she raised her great, appealing eyes to mine, and I could not resist 
them ; they were like the eyes of a young, frightened lamb. So I said : 
" Miss Lane, I am authorized by the Sunday JVorld to try and restore 
you. The fact that you have nervous dyspepsia greatly intimidates 
me, but if you are willing to confide yourself to my care, if your mother 
feels that she can trust you to me, on behalf of the Sunday World I 
invite you to come home with me as the Sunday World^s protege, and 
try what scientific, rational treatment can do for you, and I, on my part, 
will give you such care as I would my own daughter. 

**I will devote every energy I possess to your recovery. I promise 
absolutely nothing. I will do everything, give you the advantage, 
through The IVorld'^s liberality, of every agent now employed in cases 
similar to your own. I cannot advise you." 

For three hours mother and daughter consulted together, and at 
last Catherine Lane came to me, and putting forth her almost skeleton- 
like hand, she said : " Where would you put me, where shall I have 
to live?" Arid I answered: — 

" You may come to me in my own home if you will." 

Then the young girl said, looking at me with her sick eyes, "Then 
I accept the Sunday World^s offer with gratitude." 



APPENDIX 459 

So, with a small handbag as her only luggage, for we had no time 
to wait to pack a trunk, I brought my little human wreck to New York. 

When we reached the city and my home, my young charge could 
scarcely get up the stairs. After a warm bath and a bird-like sup- 
per, I put my new acquaintance into a little white bed, drew the 
curtains, shut the great mournful eyes out from my vision, and sat down 
to collect my thoughts and to finally conclude in the quietness of my 
own study that I had unquestionably just performed the rashest act 
of my career. 

The girl was a mere skeleton ; she was sick and had been an in- 
tense sufferer for four years. She was one of those poor little wrecks 
doomed to an early grave, and I was a weak and perhaps wicked woman 
to suggest to her a hope of restoration. 

I could not sleep. It was just as well, for about two hours after 
retiring Miss Lane was taken with an attack of nervous dyspepsia 
which lasted three hours, and was so agonizing even to look upon, 
that when it subsided I said to her : " Did vou ever have such an at- 
tack before?" And she, to my utter horror, replied: "Why, yes, I 
have a turn like that every night just at this time, and have had for 
over three years." 

Once more I gave up, and the next morning I firmly intended 
taking her back to Philadelphia, but when she looked at me and said 
she would try hard to get well, she did so want to be her old self 
again, once more I resolved to try. I measured her and found that 
her height was 5 feet 7^ inches, that she weighed 103 pounds, she 
should have weighed 150 at least. Her chest measure was 29^ inches, 
expansion one-half inch. I now sent for a well-known physician, and 
had my little patient thoroughly examined. 

The doctor agreed with other physicians in his diagnosis, and said 
there was no organic disorder, but the girl was anaemic and weak. 
He thought it a question, indeed, if she would recuperate, but he 
uttered one sentence which brought joy to my heart. He said: " That 
girl ought to have been a magnificent woman." 

Inwardly I resolved she should have every chance to be a well 
one. After the doctor left, I put my patient to bed. I gave her a 
little food every two hours and a half — very easily digested food — 
cereals cooked for hours and hours, koumiss, a very little ripe fruit, 
hot water only to drink, and absolute quiet. 



460 HARRIET HUBBARD AYER 

The second night, like the first, we wrestled with the nervous dys- 
pepsia, and when the attack was over I felt quite hopeless. The third 
day I sent for the most skillful woman electrician and masseuse in 
the country, according to my own opinion, and Miss Lane was given 
an electric bath. After the bath, massage, during which she fell asleep 
and rested delightfully for three hours. I awakened her in fact, fear- 
ing she would become exhausted, and, after taking a bowl of gruel 
she fell asleep and slumbered gently for five hours. 

Then came the dreadful attack, not quite so violent, but terrible 
indeed ; again the exhaustion, and we started on the fourth day. 

My little wreck was well enough to have her photograph taken, 
and the very fact that the attack had not been so bad as the night 
before had given her courage, so easily is hope born in the breast of 
the young. 

We now have a regular regimen which consists principally of food 
and sleep. I discover that my patient, if she take a little nourish- 
ment of a certain kind, noticeably warm porridge, will shortly after, 
if left quite alone, go to sleep for half or three-quarters of an hour. 
I encourage these naps, and a day is passed like this : — 

A DAY'S Treatment 

7:00 a. m. — ^A bowl of oatmeal porridge, the meal having been 
cooked for eight hours continuously. It is made thin enough to 
swallow easily by sweet, rich cream. The patient is left to rest and 
sleeps until 9 a. m. She is roused, eats the inside of a thoroughly 
baked apple, a bit of graham bread and sweet butter and a cup of 
weak English breakfast tea. 

After this she takes a small teaspoonful of emulsion of cod-liver 
oil. She finds diflSculty in keeping it down, but conquers ; receives 
a warm sponge bath, is dressed in light, loose, warm clothing, and rests 
upon a couch near the fire for an hour or two. 

She says : " Do you know when I took that porridge this morn- 
ing it felt just like a poultice in my stomach, so warm and comfort- 
able, like a hot-water bottle feels^ you know, on the inside when you 
are sore and in pain." 

The day passed quietly, restfully. My little wreck took an airing, 
muffled up to her ears, upon the roof. I sent for a cylinder of com- 




s \ 59 



■m^^KT^ 




I 



CATHERINE LANE INHALING OXYGEN 



(462) 



APPENDIX 463 

pressed oxygen for the patient. It came at seven o'clock the even- 
ing of the fourth day. She took five inhalations before retiring. She 
also had another electric bath at four in the afternoon, and on the 
fourth night of her stay in my home Miss Catherine Lane for the first 
time in three years, skipped her attack of nervous dyspepsia. To be 
sure, she had all the premonitory symptoms, and we were both awake, 
I armed with hot water for both external and internal use, she ready 
for her customary agony. But behold, it did not come, and the child 
lay in utter amazement that it could really be possible she was to 
go through one night without an attack. 

The fifth day of Catherine Lane's stay with me began brightly 
enough. My patient was given a bowl of rice gruel at 7 a. m. She 
remained in bed until 9:30; was then given a warm sponge bath, 
massage, and ate her breakfast clad in a loose dressing gown thrown 
over her night robe, so that she might be spared the fatigue of dressing. 

Breakfast consisted of the inside of a baked apple, a small por- 
tion of oatmeal, which had been cooking slowly all night long, and 
was boiled to a jelly ; with the oatmeal a little cream and sugar, a 
small cup of weak English breakfast tea and one slice of graham 
bread, with fresh unsalted butter. After breakfast a spoonful of emul- 
sion of cod-liver oil, and five inhalations of compressed oxygen. My 
patient rested an hour and then dressed, drank a glass of koumiss, 
and, according to previous arrangement, we drove to see four of the 
six members of the jury or committee who had consented to express 
an opinion founded on personal observation of Miss Lane's condition 
at the beginning, during the progress, and at the termination of the 
experiment we were making under the Sunday World^s auspices, in 
an honest endeavor to create a whole, beautiful girl out of a pitiful 
human wreck. 

Miss Lane was seen ofi the morning in question by Dr. Sarah 
French Battey, to whom I am much indebted for valuable hygienic 
suggestions ; also by Miss Virginia Hamed, whose glowing beauty 
made my poor little proteg^ appear more drawn and harassed by con- 
trast, and by that most lovable woman. Miss May Irwin, who radiates 
health both mentally and physically, and also by Miss E. Marguerite 
Lindley, the eminent physical culturist. I am much in Miss Lind- 
ley's debt also for her interest and for a number of hints concerning 
Miss Lane's treatment, of which I have gladly availed myself. 



464 HARRIET HUBBARD AYER 

These visits consumed the entire morning, and I took my charge 
to the Holland House, where she drank a glass of koumiss, ate a 
delicious piece of underdone steak and a little roasted potato. 

We now drove home, and I saw that Miss Lane was very weary ; 
that in fact she could scarcely walk. I gave my charge a wineglass 
of koumiss, and put her to bed at once, and she fell asleep, slumber- 
ing peacefully until four o'clock, at which time the masseuse and elec- 
trician arrived. I roused my patient, gave her a cup of clam bouillon, 
and turned her over to the masseuse. The electric bath and massage 
consumed about two hours more, and the operator, as she came softly 
from my patient's room, said: "I have left her sound asleep." 

At seven o'clock I awakened my charge, and suggested that she 
take dinner in bed and not rise again throughout the evening and 
night. She acceded, and ate the heart of a well -baked potato, a tiny 
bit of the breast of a broiled chicken, and a very little well-cooked 
farina, with cream and sugar. After this meal which she much rel- 
ished, came the emulsion and five inhalations of oxygen. I covered 
my patient well*, tucking an eider down all about her, and leaving just 
her eyes exposed, I opened the window wide and let the delicious 
crisp air fairly swirl about her. 

I apprehended an attack of the nervous dyspepsia during the night. 
Miss Lane had been overstrung and half hysterical at intervals during 
the latter part of the day. She is a sweet modest girl, and was dis- 
tressed at the inspection," as she called it, of her poor bones by the 
committee. 

At eleven o'clock an attack of nervous dyspepsia came on. It was 
brief, and not very severe. We did it battle, with hot water taken 
internally, and hot-water bags externally. When the paroxysm passed 
off, as it did in about twenty minutes, Miss Lane, looking as white as 
a spirit, smiled into my face and said: *' That was a pretty good bluff, 
wasn't it ? " Five minutes later she was sound asleep. I awakened 
her about four in the morning, and she drank a cup of oatmeal por- 
ridge, made quite thin, strained, and with about two tablespoonfuls of 
sweet cream added to it. She fell almost instantly asleep, and rested 
peacefully until 7:30. 

I heard her stirring, and asked her if she would like something to 
eat. She replied she thought she would like a cup of weak tea. So 
I prepared it for her, and added one slice of graham bread, with a 



APPENDIX 465 

little unsalted butter. She said it tasted " so good " and slept again. 
The most wonderful and encouraging thing about this girl was her 
capacity for sleep. She said herself that she did nothing but eat and 
sleep, and it was literally true. 

She took not one atom of medicine except the emulsion of cod- 
liver oil, yet she certainly slept sixteen hours out of the twenty-four, 
at this period, and it was the repose of a child, gentle, calm, and with 
a complete relaxation of the whole body. While she thus rested, 
every line of pain disappeared from her face. There was a little flush 
on her cheeks, and her lips were rosy. When she was awake she 
was wide awake, and as bright as a bird ; but after half an hour or 
so she would stretch and yawn and say apologetically : " I really feel 
ashamed of myself, but I am just as sleepy as I can be." 

Miss Lane had been with me now one week and a day. She had 
gained one pound and three-quarters in weight. The dyspepsia was 
unquestionably on the mend. She had not had an attack at all since 
the one she called "the bluff," the day after she was examined by the 
jury ; and that night she slept from eleven o'clock until 7 A. m. At 
that hour I myself aroused her, as I felt she must have something to 
eat. In fact, I fed her as frequently as I thought she could bear it, 
giving her but little nourishment at a time, but giving it frequently. 
Unfortunately, she could not take a milk diet. Her poor, worn-out 
stomach rebelled against milk in any form. So I substituted koumiss, 
which she digested readily, and liked very much. 

Cream dilated with hot water she bore fairly well, and I added it, 
when I could, to her cereals. She took no drugs or stimulants of any 
description — no malt extracts, wines, cordials, nothing of this nature. 
Her diet was made up of cereals cooked from five to eight hours ; un- 
derdone porterhouse steaks, chops, mutton and beef, spring chickens, 
partridges, roasted potatoes and apples, both of which agreed with her 
wonderfully well. There were several other signs of improvement other 
than the breaking off of the paroxysm of dyspepsia, which had been a 
nightly occurrence for three years. 

My little housemaid said to me : " Miss Lane doesn't keep her hands 
on her side any more, does she ? " It is true that she rarely held her 
left hand in any other position — she was always in pain, and involun- 
tarily the wasted little hand was pressed against the sore spot. Of 
course she was still dreadfully emaciated. Just think of a girl 5 feet 



466 HARRIET HUBBARD AYER 

7J inches nigh, measuring 29 inches around her hips, 10^ around the 
calf of her leg ; the largest part of her arm above the elbow measured 
7J inches scant ; the largest part between the elbow and wrist 7^ inches ; 
wrist, scant 5^. 

The most astonishing improvement was in her breathing. When 
Miss Lane first took, or tried to take, a deep breath, it was a most 
pitiful little gasp. She made several efforts to breathe from the dia- 
phragm, but simply could not accomplish it. I therefore sent for the 
compressed oxygen ; the improvement in her breathing was positively 
amazing. She now took long, deep inhalations, her chest expanding 
in a remarkable manner. She had not been able, she said, to draw a 
long breath for years, because it hurt her side so cruelly. Now she 
breathed from the diaphragm a long, clear, rhythmic inhalation and 
expulsion, and again, to use her own language, which to me expresses 
so much more clearly her feelings than any words of my own could, 
"something was loosened there," for she feels the oxysfen clear down 
to her stomach, and does not know that she ever had a sore side. 

Miss Lane was not on any particular diet. I was just feeling my 
way along. She took all the cereals either in porridge, gruel, or jel- 
lied form. She could not take anything cold in her stomach without 
distress, so I gave her everything warm. Later, she craved meat. 
That seemed to me an indication for it, and I cooked it myself, either 
beef or mutton, broiling it with the utmost care, and giving her a 
small bit at a time, never so well done that the blood did not follow 
the knife ; beef tea made from the blood pressed out of juicy steak, 
clam bouillon, chicken and mutton broth. 

I offered her occasionally ( she alternated her gruels and porridges) 
roasted apples and potatoes, celery, and the juice of a very fine sweet 
orange. She digested all these things without discomfiture. 

Miss Lane passed her second week of hygienic life peacefully 
and painlessly. She gained in flesh during that period two pounds, 
making 3| pounds gained in the first two weeks she was under my 
care. 

The following is a full and accurate statement by days of Miss 
Lane's treatment at this time: — 

Saturday, March 6th, 7:00 A. m. — Awakened my patient, and gave 
her five ounces Indian meal porridge, previously boiled five hours, di- 
luted with sweet cream and salted. Slept until nine o'clock. 



APPENDIX 467 

9:00 A. M. — Warm sponge bath with friction afterward. 
9:80- — Breakfast, heart of roasted apple, inside of baked Bermuda 
potato, small cup ( about two and one-half ounces ) of weak English 
breakfast tea, one slice graham bread, unsalted butter, tablespoonful 
oatmeal ( boiled five hours ) with cream and sugar. 

10:15 — Tablespoonful of emulsion of cod-liver oil. 
10:30 — Deep-breathing exercises for five minutes; rest until 
eleven o'clock. 

11:00— Four ounces of koumiss; rest until twelve o'clock. 

12:00 M. — Patient is wrapped up warmly, takes a fresh-air and sun 
bath either in sitting room or upon the roof. Occasionally she goes 
for a short walk. 

12:45 P.M.- — Luncheon: About three ounces underdone steak, which 
patient does not swallow; roasted potato, cup of hot water, boiled rice 
with cream and sugar, juice of a large, ripe navel orange. After 
luncheon one tablespoonful of emulsion of cod-liver oil. Rest until 
two o'clock. 

2:00 — Four ounces koumiss. 

2:15 — Deep-breathing exercises for five minutes; dumb-bells for 
five minutes. 

2:30 — Rest until four o'clock. 

4:00 — Two ounces of beef tea. 

4:10 — Electric bath or Swedish movements. 

5:00 — Massage; rest until half -past six o'clock. 

6:30 — Dinner: Three ounces underdone mutton, which patient does 
not swallow; roasted potato with cream, two slices graham bread, un- 
salted butter, celery, a glass of mineral water heated, farina made into 
a jelly, sweetened and served with rich cream. After dinner one table- 
spoonful of emulsion of cod-liver oil. 

7:30 — Deep-breathing exercises for five minutes; Indian clubs five 
minutes. 

7:45 — Four ounces koumiss. 

8:00 — Miss Lane wrapped up well, rested upon a couch, and, with 
just her nose and eyes exposed, was treated to a fresh-air bath; all the 
windows were opened and remained so for half an hour. 

9:00 — Patient prepared for bed; sponge bath; four ounces koumiss; 
rested quietly until eleven o'clock. 

11:00 — Five ounces oatmeal porridge. 



468 HARRIET HUBBARD AYER 

For the first time in three years Miss Lane ventured to swallow 
about a wineglass of cool, still, mineral water the other day. She said 
to me: "I do so crave a drink of cool water. It's three years since I've 
tasted a mouthful of anything cold. Do you think I might venture?" 

"Why yes," I answered. "Try a mouthful." So I got her a tiny 
glass of delicious Waukesha water. She drank it. Then we both 
sat and looked at each other, waiting for something to happen. 
There was not the slightest disturbance. Then we smiled in each 
other's faces, and the little wreck said with a voice like the chirp 
of a bird: — 

"Isn't it too lovely for anything? Do you suppose I'll really get 
so I can drink water just like other people? Oh, Mrs. Ayer, how 
can I ever thank the Sunday World? Why, I have just pined for 
so long for one good, big drink of cold water ; but if I really took 
it, I knew I should almost die of pain for hours after." 

I am not easily moved, but when I see a human being so hum- 
bly grateful to be able to swallow a few drops of cool water, when 
I see a young creature's eyes fill with happy tears because she can 
draw a long breath again without distress, when I hear my little pa- 
tient exclaim as I roused her morning after morning, "Oh, how deli- 
cious! Another night without pain," I found a lump in my throat 
and a sudden necessity for changing the subject or getting away for 
a few minutes. 

Miss Lane alternated her electric treatment with massage and 
Swedish movements. She took one or the other each day. She was 
on no particular diet. I gave her, as far as possible, the food she 
craved. At this period, she ate a number of things she could not 
digest when she came to me. Eggs and milk were like poison to her. 
She was debarred also from many vegetables. Birds, poultry and 
certain kinds of fish she substituted occasionally for beef and mut- 
ton, but generally speaking she preferred the two latter meats to any 
other food of this nature. She consumed several small bottles of kou- 
miss each day, substituted clam bouillon or oyster broth for beef tea 
whenever she felt inclined. She drank a few mouthfuls of cool Wau- 
kesha water daily. She slept a great deal — almost as much as an 
infant. 

Catherine Lane was certainly getting well. She had taken neither 
drugs nor stimulants to the extent of one drop since she was intrusted 



APPENDIX 469 

to my care. Her restoration was brought about entirely through 
care, nursing and physical culture, including massage and elec- 
tricity. 

She had now gained six pounds and three-quarters in weight. She 
had not had a paroxysm of pain of any description for nearly two 
weeks. She ate and assimilated the simple food given to her, took 
her sun and fresh-air baths daily. 

When she first came to me, she could walk only a few steps with- 
out a shortness of breath which caused her great pain in her side. 
She walked now ten blocks without fatigue. She had not drawn a 
long breath without pain for years, when she became the Sunday 
World's patient. She now takes deep, full inspirations from the dia- 
phragm, and has not had recourse to the compressed oxygen for 
nearly ten days. 

I now added spinach, very well cooked and strained, to her bill of 
fare. There was not the slightest sign of discomfort. Then I pre- 
pared some Long Island asparagus, which she did not swallow. With 
these additions, the dietary remained the same. 

When Miss Lane came to me, she weighed 103 pounds. Four 
weeks later she weighed 116. When she began her life of hygiene 
as the Sunday World'' s patient, she could not walk three blocks with- 
out fatigue. She now walked twenty blocks a day, and could walk 
much further, were she permitted. 

Physical culture, gymnastics, exercises with dumb-bells and clubs of 
the lightest weight have been of such marked benefit to my patient, 
that I took her to the most eminent master of fencing in this citv» 
Professor Regis Senac, where Miss Lane took her first lesson in fencing 
I was more pleased, I believe, than the pupil, when Professor Senac 
volunteered the statement that Miss Lane had such a steady band 
that she would make a capital fencer, for Miss Lane, five weeks he 
fore, could scarcely raise a teacup to her mouth, her hand trembled so. 

When our patient suffered her attack of nervous dyspepsia, the 
first night of her stay with me, she told me she found relief only in 
hot water. She has never suffered from one of these attacks since 
the first electric bath. 

The left arm, which had not been warm for nearly three years, 
is now the same temperature as the right. The moisture has gone, 
and the Little palm is cool and perfectly dry. 



470 HARRIET HUBBARD AYER 

Watching Catherine Lane flitting about my home the last week 
of her stay, her graceful figure expressing in its alertness the joy of 
youth and health, it seemed truly inconceivable that this was the girl 
for whom I so recently undertook to care. It was impossible then 
to interest her in anything. It is almost equally difficult now to 
keep her quiet. She is at present really interested in anything and 
everything, and making plans for future work and usefulness, for 
Catherine Lane must earn her own living and assist in the support 
of others. 



REPORTS OF THE JURY 

To the Editor of The World: — 

Miss Lane has improved very much. I was surprised and greatly 
pleased by her appearance when she was brought to me at the end 
of the Sunday World^s experiment. She is now evidently in excel- 
lent health, and there is no reason why the improvement should not 
be permanent. With care and a continuation of sensible, healthful 
methods of life, she should be a useful, healthful, happy woman for 
many years to oome. 

Louise Fiske Beyson, M. D. 

The Gramercy, 34 Gramercy Park, 
New Yobk. 



To the Editor of The World: — 

The age of miracles is not passed. How else can I view the Miss 
Lane of a few short weeks ago and the glorious changed Miss Lane 
of to-day. I have always felt that environment had so much to do 
toward helping or retarding an invalid in her efforts to get well, that 
I was prepared to know that Mrs. Ayer could work wonders, but I 
can only say she has almost worked a miracle. The world is full of 
women like Miss Lane, and I hope and pray that The World will 
carry on its noble work in the manner it proposes, by establishing a 
home where rest can be had for time to recover health and desire to 
live. 

I think the grandest work done by man, woman, club or society, 
is when it helps a discouraged, weary human being to help herself. 
When I look at Miss Lane to-day, and then let my memory go 
back to the third day of her " rest," how can I realize that in so short 
a time has been wrought such a change — from an emaciated, pale 
girl to a healthy, happy, hopeful woman ? 

I repeat, when I look back and know what has been done, I am 
lost in admiration for the noble work of Mrs. Ayer and the JSun- 



APPENDIX 471 

day World. In Miss Lane's recovery, they have built up a monument 
of prayer. " More things are w^rought by prayer than this world 
dreams of." And may the answer be health, wealth and prosperity to 
the Neio York World. 

Bertha Welby. 

No, 146 West Twenty-third St., 
New York. 



To the Editor of The World : — 

Catherine Lane has certainly improved greatly during the six weeks 
of hygienic living. She is apparently in perfect health. 

Yours truly, 

Sarah A. French Battey, M. D. 

No. 124-126 West Thirty-sixth St., ^ 

New Yobk. 



To the Editor of The World : — 

I desire to congratulate Mrs. Ayer on her success with Miss Lane, 
and in behalf of the profession of physical training, thank her for her 
help in proving that a delicate physique can be built up through a 
proper application of natural remedies, as fresh air, systematic exer- 
cise and massage to localize blood current in weak tissues, simple 
food in small quantities and at frequent, regular intervals, and rest. 

Nature is a kind mother if we but respect her desires, and Mrs. 
Ayer has certainly honored her demands by studying what of her 
laws had been disobeyed in the case of Miss Lane. 

I am happy to have been personally concerned in this case, and 
to report a most complete improvement. I consider a thorough founda- 
tion for permanency of power is now laid, and except overwork is 
allowed, the next three months will show marvelous gain in health 
and avoirdupois from the impetus your care and methods have estab- 
lished. The human plant, like those of the vegetable kingdom, will 
assert its rightful proportions if properly cultivated. 

E. Marguerite Lindley, 

Professor of Physical Culture. 

Murray Hill Hotel, 
New York. 



To the Editor of The Worla: — 

Miss Lane called on me this afternoon, and if I had met her on 
the street I would not have known her, she has improved so. It 
seems almost incredible that in so short a time Mrs. Ayer could ac- 
complish so much. She ought to be very proud of her work. 

Yours sincerely, 

May Irwin. 

New York, April 6. 



472 HARRIET HUBBARD AYER 



CATHERINE LANE'S LETTER OF THANKS FOR HER CURE 

To the Editor of The World: — 

My six weeks of treatment under the care of the Sunday World now 
being finished, I wish to express my gratitude for the benefit derived 
from it. After four years of suffering and discomfort, my health has 
been so restored, by the liberality of The World and the kind ministra- 
tions of Mrs. Ayer, that I am able once again to take up a place in the 
world other than that of an invalid. I feel that no expense has been 
spared by The World to give me every advantage that money could 
buy and Mrs. Ayer's rare knowledge of nature and intuition could 
suggest. The food, daintily cooked by Mrs. Ayer's own hands, the 
massage, electricity, and, above all, the mental atmosphere of perfect 
rest and the manner in which I have been made to feel that all trouble 
taken for my benefit was but a pleasure, have all combined to make a 
well and hopeful girl out of a discouraged invalid. I can never cease 
to be grateful for my good fortune in having become the object of The 
World'' 8 humane experiment. The many pathetic letters received by 
Mrs. Ayer from other such girls and women have filled me with the 
deepest sympathy and I can only hope that my experience may become 
the foundation stone of a rest cure by means of which other unfortunate 
girls in the same position may recover health and usefulness. 

Gratefully yours, 

Catherine Lane. 



During the last week of Catherine Lane's stay with me, Mrs. Lane 
came to visit her daughter. After three days she left. Taking my 
hand in hers, and with tears streaming down her face, she handed me 
a letter which she asked me to give to the Sunday World, It was 
as follows : — 

To the Editor of The World :~ 

It seems to me that the age of miracles has come back when I 
look at my dear child and see her so well, so bright and so happy, 
and remember in what despair I wrote to Mrs. Ayer only six weeks 
ago about her apparently hopeless condition. I can scarcely believe 
that my daughter is the girl Mrs. Ayer took from our little home, so 
sick and so discouraged. 

Only a mother can know the anguish I have endured in seeing my 
dear child suffer as she has done every hour for over three years. I 
thought I had done all that could be done for her, and I saw nothing 
but an early grave for my sweet daughter, but it seems I was very 
ignorant. 

I had no way of knowing of all those wonderful things — I mean 
electricity and the Swedish gymnastics — that have made her strong 




CATHERINE LANE AT THE END OF SIX WEEKS' TREATMENT 



(473) 




CATHERINE LANE TWO YEARS AFTER 
IN PERFECT HEALTH SEE LETTER, PAGE 476 



(474) 



APPENDIX 475 

and well. I have been at Mrs. Ayer's now for two days, and have 
seen the different treatments Catherine is taking, and I have watched 
Mrs. Ayer herself prepare the delicious food which has formed hei 
diet. Certainly no girl ever received greater and more intelligent and 
lavish care. 

I wish I could think of some way of expressing my gratitude to 
the Sunday World. I cannot. How can a mother find words to ex 
press her happiness in the restoration of her child? I can only pra} 
that the Sunday World may receive the reward its generosity and 

kindness merit. 

Cornelia Lane. 



About a year after her treatment, I received the following letter 
from Miss Catherine Lane : — 

Chicago, Jan. 1st. 
Dear Mrs. Ayer : — We shall be in New York next week at the 
Grand Opera House. I long for an opportunity to see you again, and 
I want also to exhibit myself, for if I am not a miracle, then never 
was one effected. It seems simply incredible to me that I ever could 
have been the girl whom you took home last winter, and when I look 
back upon the torture I' endured for so long, I wonder that it can be 
so easy to forget such exquisite pain as I have suffered for so many 
years. I wonder if you would recognize the Catherine Lane who 
could not eat a mouthful without agony after, in the girl who has 
broken the record for consuming pie in this company ? Truly, no one 
will believe at all that I have ever had any acquaintance with dys- 
pepsia. We have been traveling all winter, and I have eaten all kinds 
of food at all hours of the day and night. My digestive apparatus 
would seem to merit a Sandow physique. Nothing that I have yet 
encountered intimidates me. I sleep just as much as I can. I am 
only limited by my duties. After the play I go to bed, and fall into 
a perfectly restful slumber, and if I were not awakened, I really think 
I should sleep ten hours at a stretch. I have been playing eight 
times a week all season, rehearsing besides, and I am never con- 
scious of fatigue. I have never been so well in my life. You recol- 
lect how pessimistic I was about myself when I came to you, so sick 
and discouraged not quite a year ago, and perhaps you remember 
that after I really had recovered I used to say that either a miracle 
had been performed or else you had exercised some mental control 
over me, because the whole thing seemed so wonderful? When I realize 
how desperately ill I was, and when I remember what the doctors told 
me and how I was cured by rest, care and nursing, and without one 
particle of medicine, I feel that I really do owe my life to the Sun- 
day World. I was very sensitive about my real identity being 
known while I was the Sunday World^s patient. It seems to me 

A.—25 



476 HARRIET HUBBARD AYER 

now that I can express my gratitude better by letting the Sunday 
World readers know who the girl really is who owes so much to 
the great paper, so if you like you may tell the Sunday World 
readers that the Catherine Lane who was your patient, and who is 
always your grateful friend, is no other than yours affectionately, 

Lillian Daily. 



Two years after her treatment. Miss Lane wrote me from Indianapolis, 
Ind., where she was playing leading parts in' the best stock company 
in the city, as follows : — 

March, '99. 
Dear Mrs. Ayer : — Just a line to tell you again that I am perfectly 
well, and that I am getting on in every way capitally. I send you a 
picture taken a very few days ago. It doesn't look very much like the 
Catherine Lane who was your little human wreck, does it ? The more 
I think about it, and the longer I continue well and strong, the more I 
shall insist that you performed a miracle. Do write me when you can, 
and accept the picture with the love of 

Your faithful friend, 

Lillian Daily. 

Note. — Of course Miss Lane's ease was exceptional in that she was a terrible sufferer 
from nervous dyspepsia. Hence the resort to electrical treatment, massage and compressed 
oxygen. While all of these are beneficial they are not essential in ordinary cases of thin- 
ness or even emaciation, which invariably improve with proper fat-forming food, plenty 
of exercise, plenty of sleep and quiet, restful surroundings. This is Nature's remedy — she 
made us, knows our needs and will keep us whole, sound and fair proportioned if we 
follow her rational regimen instead of flying in her face. 





APPENDIX 6 



HOW MARTHA BAKER WAS CURED OF OBESITY WITHOUT DRUGS 




N July, 1897, Mrs. Martha Baker placed herself in my care to 
be reduced in flesh without recourse to drugs or medicines 
of any description. The following is my report of Mrs. Ba- 
ker's, treatment as originally printed in the Sunday JVorld : — 
Mrs. Baker is five feet, five and a half inches tall, and 
weighs 205 pounds. At the time her treatment was begun, 
her waist measured thirty-five inches. She was thirty-two 
years old, and measured fifty-five inches around her hips. 

She is a brunette with perfectly regular features, lovely 
skin texture, beautiful eyes, teeth white and even as pearls, and an 
abundance of waving dark-brown hair. She would have been a no- 
ticeably beautiful woman were she not encumbered with superfluous 
flesh. 

There is, in my opinion, only one wholesome method of eliminating 
fat. It consists of a diet which should be selected to sustain the mus- 
cular system without creating unnecessary adipose tissue. We all know 
that fat is carbon, and that oxygen alone will consume carbon. When 
we take into the body a lot of food which contains carbon, or the 
elements of carbon, the only way we can properly dispose of it is to 
burn it out by exercise violent enough to oxygenate the blood and 
thus absorb the carbon. The more of the fat-forming food we eat, the 
more exercise we must take, if we do not wish to result in an ac- 
cumulation of fat. Unfortunately, as the flesh-forming habit increases, 

(477) . 



478 HARRIET HUBBARD AYER 

the disposition to stir about or take exercise decreases, and the results 
are seen every day in the men or women of positively monstrous pro- 
portions who drag out an existence which is really a burden to them. 
Mrs. Baker's dimensions at the beginning of treatment were as 
follows : — - 

Height, 5 feet 5J inches. 

Bust, 45 inches. 

Waist, 35 inches. 

Wrist, 6^ inches. 

Arm, 15J inches at the largest part, 11 between elbow and wrist. 

Neck, 16J inches. 

Hips, 55 inches. 

It is impossible for a woman of Mrs. Baker's size to begin at once 
to take any violent exercise. The weight of her body is so far out of 
proportion to the proper weight her feet should carry that she could 
not do much walking. Her feet are not strong enough to support 
such a monstrous weight. 

For the first two or three weeks of her treatment, I depended more 
upon diet than physical exercise. Having ascertained, as the result of 
a physician's examination, that she had no organic disorder, and that 
her heart was in very excellent condition, considering the fat surround- 
ing it, she began her treatment by abstaining from all sweet and 
starchy foods. 

Her bill of fare for the first week consisted of underdone beef and 
mutton, shellfish, vegetables without starch or sugar, such as lettuce, 
radishes, tomatoes, cucumbers, all kinds of ripe fruit — without sugar in 
any form — one cup of weak English breakfast tea a day, hot water 
several times each day, gluten bread, toasted, to which she added a little 
salt to take the place of butter. 

The articles of diet she positively dared not touch were, first of all, 
starchy foods, such as cereals, macaroni in any shape, beets, peas, beans, 
rice, tapioca, barley, wheat in any form excepting in the bread already 
spoken of, butter, cheese, cream, milk, coffee, cocoa, chocolate, all desserts, 
all ices, sweet drinks and so-called " soft drinks," including the insidious 
ice-cream soda. She did not touch nuts or sweetened fruits of any kind, 
nor did she eat of hearty soups. 

She ate three meals a day, breakfasting about eight, at which repast 
she took a cup of weak tea, perhaps two slices of toasted gluten bread 



APPENDIX 479 

with a little salt, some fresh fruit, a couple of soft-boiled eggs, and a 
little broiled steak or a mutton chop. 

After her breakfast she took a short walk. It was with the greatest 
effort that she walked three blocks. At the end of that time she was so 
tired that she was really unable to take another step, and suffered very 
much from pain in her feet and ankles. 

At noon she ate from the list given above, without any special refer- 
ence to quantity. Of course she took no alcohol or stimulants of any 
kind. 

Her third meal, about six o'clock, consisted of fruits, toasted bread 
and salt, salad or green vegetables, and meat. I did not care to have 
her eat meat three times a day, but many people who give up sweet 
and starchy foods feel that they must eat very much more meat to 
take the place of other food which they have relinquished. 

One of the greatest aids to the accumulation of jflesh is sleep, 
which is a habit, and becomes a fixed one with many stout people. 
The nerves are so covered with the padding of fat that the result 
is one of almost torpor. During treatment, Mrs. Baker slept seven 
hours and no more in the twenty-four. She promised to take no 
naps during the day, and kept her promise. 

So far as any other rules are concerned, for the first week or more 
Mrs. Baker simply adhered to the diet, and took a warm bath each 
night, followed by a cold plunge. She took a cold rub each morn- 
ing. She took no medicines of any form or description. 

July 7th, 1897:— 

On the seventh day of her treatment for reduction in weight, Mrs. 
Baker was weighed. She tipped the scales at exactly 197^ pounds, 
showing a decrease in weight of 1^ pounds in seven days. This is 
very remarkable under the circumstances, as Mrs. Baker has taken 
almost no exercise whatever. She had not walked on an average, three 
blocks a day. 

The lesson to be derived from this week's treatment is plain 
enough. Mrs. Baker has abstained from the food that makes fat. 
As a result she is adding nothing, but is now exhausting each day a 
certain amount of the fatty tissues which are still in such abundance. 
Her treatment has been as follows : — 

She arises at about seven, takes a cold sponge bath, and immediately 
after has breakfast. Her morning meal for the last week has consisted 



480 HARRIET HUBBARD AYER 

of one cup of English breakfast tea (without milk or sugar), two soft- 
boiled eggs, two slices of toasted gluten bread, with a little salt, two 
lamb chops underdone, and fruit in season (as much as she cared to eat). 
After breakfast she has busied herself about her home, religiously re- 
fraining from lying down and from everything tending to induce sleep, 
which is a disease with most fat people. 

At noon she has eaten roast beef or mutton or broiled steak (under- 
done), two or three kinds of vegetables, spinach, tomatoes, cabbage 
and a salad dressing without oil. At this meal she has taken one or 
two glasses of hot water, and for dessert she has had ripe fruit, with- 
out sugar. She has also eaten toasted gluten bread, without butter. 

Her evening meal consisted mainly of fruits, with toasted bread, as 
she has found the weath^ too warm for eating meat three times a day. 



Hot Water, No Tea 

Mrs. Baker has had hot water at night in place of tea. This bill of 
fare has been almost of daily repetition, but, singularly enough, my 
patient is not in the least tired of the diet. On the contrary, she is in 
a state of most exuberant spirits. She is convinced that she has adopted 
the right system, and as she is an extremely intelligent woman and has 
splendid will power, there is not the slightest doubt in my mind of her 
success. It requires persistence to complete the obesity cure success- 
fully. 

We have made one attempt at bicycle riding only, and that one 
was not very successful. I have felt that the weather was too 
warm for a woman of her bulk to take such exercise, and the one 
bicycle lesson resulted in such fatigue, and in so much suffering 
from the soreness of unused muscles that we have relinquished the 
bicycle until the weather moderates. 

Mrs. Baker's average woman acquaintances would not notice her 
decrease in facial flesh at present. She would immediately, how- 
ever, notice the difference in her size around the hips. The de- 
crease, however, has been a symmetrical one. I find my patient 
to-day measures but fifty-one inches around the hips, showing a loss 
of four inches. This is a great deal, but not more than should be 
expected from the diet. Her neck is one-half inch smaller. Her 



APPENDIX 481 

waist has decreased three inches, the bust an inch and a half. There 
is no appreciable difference in the arm and wrist. 

Mrs. Baker takes a hot scrub at night, a cold plunge afterwards, 
and allows herself but seven hours of sleep. She says she already 
feels like a new creature, and she begins now to understand what 
a tremendous detriment her superfluous flesh has been ; how it has 
weio*hed her down both mentally and physically. If the weather 
were not so unpropitious it would be difficult to restrain her, for 
she shows every desire to really do more than I wish in following 
the treatment. 

There is no reason why any fat woman — or man, for that matter, 
should not reduce the weight until a proper one is reached, by follow- 
ing this method, which consists, as I have said before, of merely ceas- 
ing to supply fat-forming food to the system. 



No Fear of III Effects 

In reply to many letters received since last Sunday's publication of 
Mrs. Baker's case — letters which it is impossible for me to answer spe- 
cifically — I am glad to say that there is no fear of ill effects from this 
treatment. As a matter of fact, most people really eat too much, and 
the hardiest races in the world are the races living in the mountains, 
where one never sees a fat man or woman. The reason for this is that 
mountain climbing, which is a very arduous physical exercise, oxygenates 
the blood rapidly, and this oxygenation burns out all superfluous fat. 
It is like the bellows fanning the fire. 

Mrs. Baker is, of course, far in excess of her proper weight. She 
should not be much heavier than 150 pounds. There is no reason, in 
my opinion, why she should not reduce herself to a weight which shall 
make her a symmetrical woman, and inasmuch as the only obstacle to 
her being a beautiful woman is her superfluous flesh, I shall endeavor 
to have her continue the treatment until she has so nearly approached 
the weight that both she and I will be satisfied, or until she has the 
system so well in hand herself that she no longer needs my direction. 



482 HARRIET HUBBARD AYER 



No Medicines Used 

I wish to make a point of the fact that Mrs. Baker takes no 
medicines or purgatives of any description. She will, of course, 
abstain from alcohol or wines or "soft drinks." There is nothing so 
insidious and so certain to make an unwholesome excess of flabby fat 
as the thousand and one sweet drinks to which the women of this coun- 
try are so much addicted. 

It may seem to many readers almost like tyranny to suggest hot 
water at this time of the year. ^As a matter of fact, it will be found 
that the hot water does not make one any warmer. It will quench the 
thirst, it stimulates gastric action, and less of it is required than when 
one indulges in iced water. 

Mrs. Baker is carefully following the rules laid down for her, which 
include a positive abstinence from all starchy and sweet food, such as all 
cereals, breads of every description, excepting gluten bread ; vegetables, 
such as potatoes, beans, corn, beets, peas, eggplant ; milk, butter, cheese, 
cream, coffee, cocoa, chocolate, all desserts, excepting ripe fruits, nuts of 
all kinds ; in fact, anything that contains starch or sugar. It is a mis- 
taken idea to suppose that one will starve upon the diet advised in this 
treatment, although I admit it is limited, but when one is really hungry 
one can eat of the food such as Mrs. Baker is now eating, and the won- 
derful benefits physically derived from the reduction in flesh, the renewal 
of energy and the activity in every way, will more than repay. 

July 16th. — Mrs. Baker, at the end of her second week's treatment, 
was weighed. She brought the scales down at exactly 193^ pounds. 
When her treatment began, she weighed 205 pounds. During the first 
week she lost seven and a half pounds. I consider a continuous loss 
of three pounds and a half a week about the proper amount of re- 
duction. 

In the treatment of an obese patient the change of diet is of 
course a radical one, and the first week or ten days the patient usu- 
ally loses about double the amount of flesh, or rather decreases in 
weight to that extent as compared with the week following. 

The most noticeable change is around the hips and abdomen. Mrs. 
Baker's original measurements, as taken for this experiment, showed 
that she was fifty-five inches around the hips. She had lost nine 

♦August, 1897. 



APPENDIX 483 

inches in circumference, and already she finds it difficult to walk in 
her ordinary skirts. A gown that she wore the day I first measured 
her now trails on the floor all around. For the first week there was 
little change in the measurements, except around the bust. In fact the 
bust measurement, which decreased two inches, and the neck half an 
inch, were the only noticeable variations in the measurement. But this 
week tells a different story. There is a difference of over an inch in 
the neck measurement. 

The waist measure has not changed from last week and is thirty- 
two inches, showing a decrease of three inches around the waist since 
the beginning of the treatment. 

For the first ten days there was no noticeable difference in the 
face, but on Monday morning, when I took Mrs. Baker's photograph, 
there was a very marked change. The flesh is falling away from the 
upper part of the face as well as about the chin and throat. For 
years Mrs, Baker has never attempted to wear a close collar. She 
now wears a fifteen and a half inch collar with perfect ease. 

She now walks twelve blocks a day, takes bicycle lessons, and her 
whole manner is so changed that it is almost a miracle to her friends. 
She tells me that she constantly meets people whom she knows and 
who voluntarily express their surprise at the improvement of her ap- 
pearance, and remark upon her unusual physical activity. 



What She Eats 

The daily routine has been changed very little. .The Sunday World 
patient continues to rise at about seven in the morning ; her breakfast 
consists of gluten bread, a cup of weak English breakfast tea, without 
sugar or milk, as much ripe fruit as she chooses to eat, and, as she 
says she is so hungry, she also now eats a bit of underdone steak or 
a chop in the morning. The bread is no longer toasted. My patient 
is making progress rapidly enough without the aid of the toasted 
bread, and now eats the gluten bread with a little salt in place of 
butter, and as much as she feels inclined. 

The diet for the second meal has also been slightly changed. 
When she chooses to do so, Mrs. Baker now eats any one of a num- 
ber of vegetables, or two or three of them, if she feel disposed. Of 



484 HARRIET HUBBARD AYER 

« 

course these are all selected for her, and are not of the starchy or sug- 
ary order. 

It is wonderful to see in so short a time the difference in the ex- 
pression of our patient's face. It has gained wonderfully in vivacity 
and interest. Her eyes appear to be larger, which, of course, is due 
to the decrease of flesh around them. Her step is as different as it 
is possible to imagine. It is much more agile. She is delighted be- 
yond expression at the progress of the treatment. 

The bicycle lessons are now successfully progressing. Readers of 
the Sunday JVorld will recollect that the patient's first attempt 
was a failure, or would have been so considered by the average per- 
son who has undertaken to learn. The first day our patient attempted 
to ride, it was with the utmost difficulty that she mounted the ma- 
chine, although aided by two instructors. It was almost impossible 
for her to lift herself on to the wheel, and at the end of the first les- 
son she was so exhausted physically |;hat she was really unable to walk 
a step, and was obliged to rest for nearly an hour before she could 
go home. Very stout people, although they are unaware usually of 
the fact, really exercise only a few sets of muscles. They test an 
entirely different set when they try to propel a bicycle. 



MRS. BAKER'S MEASUREMENTS, WEIGHT, ETC. 

Monday, July 5th : — 

Height, 5 feet 5^ inches. 

Weight, 205 pounds. 

Bust, 45 inches. 

Waist, 35 inches. * 

Wrist, 6|^ inches. 

Arm at the largest part, 15 J inches. 

Arm at the largest part between elbow and wrist, 11 inches 

Neck, 16J inches. 

Hips, 55 inches. 

Monday, July 12th : — 

Weight, 197^ pounds. 
Bust, 43 inches. 
Neck, 16 inches. 
Hips, 55 inches. 
Waist, 32 inches. 



APPENDIX 485 

Monday, July 19th : — 

Weight, 193^ pounds. 
Hips, 46 inches. 
Neck, 15J inches scant. 
Bust, 43 inches. 
Waist, 32 inches. 

The day after Mrs. Baker's first bicycle lesson was one neither she 
nor I will readily forget. My patient was a very discouraged woman 
and very lame, and she said she was quite certain she should never 
have courage to attempt the second lesson. I did not urge her, but 
let the matter rest until, of her own accord, she suggested making a 
second trial. I consented, and yesterday she came to me with brilliant 
eyes, a quick and alert step and a face wreathed in smiles to tell me 
that she could ride alone. She had no difficulty whatever now in 
mounting the machine, and will take a lesson every day for the present. 

The flesh about the face and throat of our patient now begins to 
give evidences of the depleting process. The muscular structure which 
supports the adipose tissue, has been so long weighed down by the 
mass of superfluous flesh that it has become flaccid and weak because 
it has been unequal to the weight put upon it. 

The next step of importance in Mrs. Baker's treatment will be the 
restoration of these muscles to firmness and strength. The muscles of 
the face are intended to uphold just enough for symmetry and a per- 
fect contour. Once they have been weakened by obesity, it is diffi- 
cult, but not impossible, to restore them to firmness, and the best 
method for effecting this result is unquestionably massage. 

Very few women appear to understand just what massage will do 
for the facial muscles, and I receive constantly many letters begging 
to know what massage is, what it will do for the face, and what the 
process is. Massage will usually do for the face just what it will ac- 
complish upon any other part of the body where the muscles are 
weakened and relaxed. In the case of a withered arm or leg the limb 
has times without number, been restored to a normal condition with- 
out other treatment than properly-directed Swedish massage, combined 
with electricity. 

July 26th. — Mrs. Baker was weighed the beginning of her fourth 
week of treatment. To her great astonishment and delight the scales 



486 HARRIET HUBBARD AYER 

registered 190. This, was a reduction of just fifteen pounds in three 
weeks. It was truly remarkable to see the change in her looks and 
manner, and if there were any question in my mind as to the whole- 
someness of an excess of fat, it would certainly have been dispelled by 
this experience with my patient during the three weeks. 

For seven years Mrs. Baker had never been able to walk more than 
three blocks at a stretch. She suffered from palpitation of the heart 
when she attempted to walk upstairs, and any exertion resulted in great 
fatigue. This was her condition when she placed herself under my care, 
July 11th. 

When she came to me to be weighed, July 26th, her step was as light 
as that of a young girl of twenty. Her figure was so changed, that it 
was impossible for her to wear her ordinary garments, and the waist 
which she had worn to have her photographs taken, was really a ludicrous 
sight upon her. Naturally, she was delighted in the improvement in her 
appearance, but I was more rejoiced, because her general health had re- 
ceived such wonderful benefit. She could now walk from fifteen to 
twenty blocks a day, rode a bicycle, and said she felt as she did when 
she was a young girl, before the superfluous flesh encroached upon her 
strength and beauty. 

A great many kindly persons have assured me that obesity was nat- 
ural, and that I was taking a great risk in defying Nature in my attempt 
to reduce my patient's adipose tissue. I must contend, on my side, that 
superfluous flesh is a disease, and that even a moderate obesity is less 
wholesome than a normal amount of fat, and I am convinced, not only 
from my own experience, but from the experiences of many persons 
whom I have guided in this matter, that obesity is not a natural con- 
dition at any time of life. I believe that scientists have decided that a 
very small amount of adipose tissue in the human organism is necessary 
to a person of average height, and, if I am not mistaken, I think the 
amount required for a person weighing 160 pounds is not above eight 
pounds. My own belief is that after a certain weight every added ounce 
is harmful to the subject, one way or another. 

It is a curious fact that so many intelligent men and women insist 
that obesity is uncontrollable. A very well-known lady recently told 
me that she knew it was not what she ate that made her fat. On the 
contrary, she declared that she was not addicted to fat-forming food. 
Then I asked her to tell me what she ate during that day, and she 



APPENDIX 487 

described a diet that was certainly an extremely fat-producing one. 
In her own language it seemed innocent enough, and it was difficult 
for me to combat her ingenuous assurances that she only ate a very 
little at a time of the various starchy and sugary foods she referred 
to. I knew perfectly well, merely looking at her, that she must be 
eating fat-forming foods, and I am as positive as I am sure that fire 
will burn, that on a non-fat-producing diet she would inevitably reduce 
in size, but it was impossible for me to convince her. 

A great many fat people declare that they are in perfect health ; 
and I am certain this is not true. As a matter of fact and statistics, 
fat people do not live as long as those who are more normal in size. 
Doctor C. M. Page, who is an authority on this subject, declares : — 

"A fat person, at whatever period of life, has not a sound tissue 
in his body. Not only is the entire muscular system degenerated with 
the fatty particles, but the vital organs — heart, lungs, brain, kidneys, 
liver, etc. - — are likewise mottled throughout, like rust spots in a steel 
watch-spring, liable to fail at any moment. The gifted Gambetta, whom 
M. Rochefort styled the fatted satrap, died, far under his prime, because 
of his depraved condition. A slight gunshot wound, from which a clean 
man would have speedily recovered, ended this obese diabetic's life. 
Events sufficiently convincing are constantly occurring on both sides 
of the Atlantic. Every hour men are rolling into ditches of death be- 
cause they do not learn how to live. The ditches have fictitious names 
— grief, fright, apoplexy, kidney trouble, heart disease, etc." 

The inciting cause of the accumulation of superfluous flesh is in 
the ingestion of more food than the system requires, which results in 
the failure to throw off the waste matter. I think that the begin- 
ning of obesity in most cases will be found in the excess of starch 
and sugar taken into the stomach. There is no question in the 
world as to what a diet of meats with starchless vegetables will ac- 
complish. 

The success of Mrs. Baker's case would appear to be unusual 
to the average observer. It is not so, however. She is simply reap- 
ing the reward of her courage and persistency. Mrs. Baker is a very 
bright and charming woman, and she was so much in the spirit of 
the experiment that it was a great pleasure to watch her. The im- 
provement in her looks is most extraordinary and particularly about 
the face as the lost contour has reappeared. 



488 HARRIET HUBBARD AYER 

MRS. BAKER'S WEIGHT AND MEASUREMENTS 

(Taken at Weekly Periods During her Treatment.) 
Monday, July 5th. 

Height, 5 feet, 5J inches. 

Weight, 205 pounds. 

Bust, 45 inches. 

Wrist, Q'^ inches. 

Waist, 35 inches. 

Arm at largest part, 15^ inches. 

Arm at largest part between elbow and wrist, 11 inches. 

Hips, 55 inches. 

Neck, 16^ inches. 

Monday, July 12th. 

Weight, 197J pounds. 
Bust, 43 inches. 
Waist, 32 inches. 
Hips, 51 inches. 
Neck, 16 inches. 

Monday, July 19th. 

Weight, 193^ pounds. 
Bust, 43 inches. . 
Waist, 32 inches. 
Hips, 46 inches. 
Neck, 15^ inches. 

Monday, July 26th. ( 

Weight, 190 pounds. 
Bust, 41J inches. 
Waist, 31 inches. 
Hips, 44 inches. 
Neck, 14^ inches. 

It will thus be seen that she continues to decrease in size and to im- 
prove in every possible way. She has now finished the fourth week of 
her treatment. For seven years, up to the day she began this treatment, 
Mrs. Baker had never been able to walk more than three blocks, at the 
outside, in any one day. She had been almost a chronic invalid. 

I made no mention of this fact when I first undertook the case, but 
it is the truth that she had been constantly under a physician's care for 
a number of ailments since the birth of her child seven years ago. Her 
condition at that time was such that it was considered inadvisable for her 
to take any exercise, and she passed the greater part of her time in a 
reclining position. 



APPENDIX 



489 



Ten years ago she was possessed of a figure which was daily remarked 
for its beauty and symmetry. It was, in fact, the perfect figure. 

I went with Mrs. Baker to see her ride on her bicycle. Her progress 
toward health and beauty was something positively astonishing. It 
must be remembered that four weeks ago this woman could not raise 
her foot high enough to mount a bicycle. The muscular effort was al- 
most impossible, and it was necessary to lift her almost as one would lift 
a sack of meal. She had not the slightest elasticity or apparent vitality. 
She then weighed 205 pounds, and was huge around the hips. She 
could not walk across the room without breathing as though she had 
gone through some terrific muscular exertion. To walk up a flight of 
stairs exhausted her so that she could do no more until she had rested. 
She now mounted a bicycle as gracefully and as easily as any girl of 
twenty, and rode about eight miles without fatigue, but on the contrary, 
looking every moment the picture of health. When we returned from 
our ride the patient declared herself free from fatigue and was in the 
most buoyant spirits. 

I do not wish to make any absurd claims for the obesity treatment, 
but I do feel that I should say, and that other stout women afflicted 
in the same manner should know, that Mrs. Baker to-day is a perfectly 
well woman. The internal troubles from which she has so long suf- 
fered have completely disappeared. She herself declares that a mir- 
acle has been performed, but I know that once more hygiene has only 
done what drugs can never hope to accomplish in certain cases. 

Mrs. Baker's measurements and weight as taken for the first five 
weeks are as follows : — 



July 5, weight. 


205 


pounds. 


July 26, waist 


) 


31 


inches. 


July 12, 


197i 


u 


Aug. 2, " 




30 


(( 


July 19, 


193i 


u 










July 26, 


190 


(( 


July 5, hips. 




55 


inches. 


Aug. 2, " 


1861 


u 


July 12, " 




51 


it 


July 5, bust, 
July 12, " 
July 19, " 


45 
43 
43 


inches. 


July 19, " 
July 26, " 
Aug. 2, " 




46 
44 
44 




July 26, " 

Aug. 2, " 


414 


u 










2 

41 


(( 


July 5, neck. 


161 


inches. 








July 12, " 


16 


a 




July 5, waist. 


35 


inches. 


July 19, " 


151 


ii 


scant. 


July 12, " 


32 


(( 


July 26, " 


14* 


it 




July 19, « 


32 


a 


Aug. 2, " 


14 


n 





490 HARRIET HUBBARD AYER 

The decrease around the hips and about the throat would appear 
to be remarkable, but this is not so. Fat people appear to gain flesh 
more readilj in some parts of the body than others, and an obese woman 
leading the life pursued by Mrs. Baker would in almost every case ac- 
quire flesh just in these regions. Mrs. Baker's neck is now almost normal 
size. 

In order to avoid lines and wrinkles, which sometimes appear as a 
result of the loss of adipose tissue, I ordered massage of the face and 
throat for Mrs. Baker, and she receives these treatments regularly. 

Mrs. Baker's diet continues about the same. She now understands 
what she can eat, and she knows the value of various foods suited to her 
taste. She discovered that she gained flesh when she ate as much pilot 
bread as she chose. She keeps a regular record of her weight, and can 
tell within twenty-four hours if she is increasing in the slightest degree. 
Like ninety per cent, of the obese people, Mrs. Baker really thought, 
as she said, that it was not what she ate that made her fat. ■ 

Obesity patients should be weighed the day they begin treatment. 
If the rules here given are strictly obeyed, the decrease in weight the 
first week will probably be about twice as great as that of any other 
week. The abnormal weight is always due to an accumulation of adipose 
tissue and water, constantly increasing because of the food and fluids 
taken into the stomach. By a radical change of diet which eliminates 
starch, sugar, and, to some extent, decreases the amount of fluid, the 
reduction in weight is much greater than after the first shrinkage. 

The obesity patient must understand that fat is a disease, and that 
the dietetic treatment for reduction is reasonable, logical, and is certain 
to prove effective. Whenever an obese person fails to lose flesh under 
the system here advised, that person is positively and certainly infring- 
ing on some of the rules. 

I have no wish to disguise the fact that obese patients who wish 
to regain a normal size must exercise self-denial and will power. 
After the first three days the severity of it is a thing of the past. 
The relief from the burden of flesh is felt within twenty-four hours, 
and I have never yet taken care of an obesity case ( and I have had 
numbers of them ) where the patient who has held out for three 
days has not succeeded in the undertaking. 

See what a bill of fare for the patients who wish to reduce flesh 
can be made up from the following articles : — 



APPENDIX 491 

Beef or mutton in any form, preferably roasted or broiled, always 
underdone ; spinach, tomatoes, cucumbers ; salads of all kinds, dressed 
without oil ; ripe fruits of every description ; all kinds of fish, ex- 
cepting salmon ; and, in the course of two or three weeks, fowl or 
game. For the first fortnight I think it better to restrict the diet to 
beef and mutton. Cabbage, turnips and cauliflower may also be added. 

The benefit in obesity cases to be derived from hot water is of 
importance, and after making a number of experiments I am con- 
vinced that obesity patients fare much better by taking what may 
seem at first a large quantity daily. The hot water has the ad- 
vantage of stimulating the digestive organs, particularly the liver, and 
a torpid liver is a great friend of obesity. Hot water also stimulates 
circulation and augments the vitality. Obesity patients are advised 
to take a large cup of water i as hot as can be drunk, about one hour 
before each meal, and the same amount or more before retiring. So 
far as drinking with meals is concerned, I think it a mistake to pun-" 
ish one's self by the deprivation of fluids. Obesity patients will do 
perfectly well in most cases if they permit themselves a good-sized cup 
of English breakfast tea for breakfast and hot water with lemon juice 
at other meals. Milk should not be used, or cream, in the tea. A 
slice of lemon and a half grain saccharine tablet will take the place 
of both milk and sugar. The saccharine tablets may be obtained at 
any druggist's. 

Exercise 

Concerning exercise, at the beginning of the treatment, it will be 
difficult for many of the obese persons to whom I am now addressing 
myself, to take even moderate exercise. They should, however, make 
the attempt. Walking, light gymnastics, athletic games, the punching 
bag, are admirable, but unquestionably best of all, is the bicycle. 

It is a great mistake in the obesity treatment to make the exer- 
cise at first either severe or laborious. No one should ever take so 
much physical exercise as to experience a real feeling of exhaustion. 
It is an error to suppose that exercise is only useful in a ratio to its 
severity. Obesity patients oftentimes say they cannot ride a wheel. 
Mrs. Baker was convinced she could never accomplish this feat, yet 
she is now so enthusiastic that were I to permit her, she would ride 
three times as far as I think wise at present. 
A.— 26 



492 HARRIET HUBBARD AYER 

August 9th. — Mrs. Baker concludes her six-weeks' treatment under 
my care. She understands now quite as well as I do how to . take care 
of herself, and is perfectly able to follow the course laid out without my 
guidance. Mrs. Baker no longer appears like the same woman. She 
herself can better describe the difference in her entire life that the 
obesity cure has made, and I take pleasure in giving to the thousands 
who are interested in this case, Mrs. Baker's own words to me in a 
letter just received : — 

My Dear Mrs. Ayer : — It is impossible for me to tell you my 
delight at the success of the experiment, as you choose to call it, in the 
reduction of flesh by logical and rational means, for the demonstration of 
which I was the subject. I should like every one who is interested in 
obesity as a disease and in its cure to know just how difficult my case 
was, and then I am sure they will understand that I entered into the 
matter with many forebodings. 

I have for years considered flesh as an affliction, and it was a very 
painful one to me, but until I met you I never regarded it as a disease, 
although my increase in fat began with my invalidism of seven years ago. 
Up to the time I first met you, for at least seven years I have been in- 
creasing in weight, steadily losing strength and steadily failing in inter- 
est in all that makes life most useful and gives a zest to one's existence. 

I believe that my flesh was the result of my sedentary life in the 
beginning. For a long time after the birth of my little daughter I was 
unable to take any exercise. I remained in bed a great deal of the time, 
and was for months a patient at one of the well-known hospitals, where, 
notwithstanding my critical condition, I still increased in flesh. I have 
certainly had the best medical attention it was possible to procure, but 
utterly without avail so far as making me a well woman. 

When I first met you I was in despair, and did not believe I should 
ever be able to walk more than a block and a half, which was the utmost 
I could do, and I had given up all hopes of ever being like myself. My 
family and my friends regarded me as a hopeless invalid. My mother, in 
fact, always spoke of me as her invalid daughter. I do not think that it 
ever occurred to any one that my superabundance of flesh was the secret 
of my ill health, and when you suggested that with the decrease of weight 
I should certainly get stronger, it had no effect upon me, because I had 
no confidence that such was the case. All this concerns the Martha 
Baker of six weeks ago. 

To-day I feel positively like a new woman. I look at the photograph 
taken of me the day I began the treatment, and at the photograph taken 
the day before yesterday, and I myself find the change almost as in- 
credible as do my friends. It is not necessary to refer to just what the 
treatment has been because the readers of the Sunday World, who are 
interested, have followed it. The experience was one that T shall value all 




MARTHA BAKER — BEFORE TREATMENT 



(493) 




(494) MARTHA BAKER — AFTER FIVE WEEKS' REDUCTION TREATMENT 



APPENDIX 



495 



my life. It has taught me not only that my strength and health, but 
also my looks and my happiness are almost completely in my control. I 
have learned how to gauge my diet so that I can, when I have arrived at 
the weight determined upon, am quite certain, hold it indefinitely. 

Of course, like all other women, I am delighted at my improved ap- 
pearance, but far beyond is my happiness in being well again. I can 
now walk twenty or thirty blocks without fatigue. I ride my wheel 
every day and enjoy it immensely, and I feel such renewed vivacity and 
energy that, whereas, it used to be an exertion for me to move, it now 
seems impossible for me to remain quiet any length of time. I cannot 
express to you my grateful appreciation of all that has been done for me, 
and the pleasure it gives me to indorse the rational treatment for the 
reduction of flesh and its perfect success in my case. 

With many thanks to you personally, I beg you to believe me, 

Gratefully yours, ~^ 

Martha Baker. 



MRS. BAKER'S WEIGHT AND MEASUREMENTS 



July 5, 


weight, 


205 


pounds. 


July 12, 


a 


197K 


ii 


July 19, 


n 


193)^ 


ii 


July 26, 


11 


190 


li 


Aug. 2, 


a 


186)^ 


li 


Aug. 9, 


(< 


182)^ 


a 


Aug. 16, 


a 


178 


ii 


July 5, 


bust, 


45 


inches. 


July 12, 


< < 


43 


<( 


July 19, 


( < 


43 


ii 


July 26, 


(< 


41K 


11 


Aug. 2, 


<( 


41 


a 


Aug. 9, 


a 


40 


'' (full) 


Aug. 16, 


(( 


38 


li 


July 5, 


waist, 


35 


inches. 


July 12, 


li 


32 


(( 


July 19, 


a 


32 


a 


July 26, 


li 


31 


a 


Aug. 2, 


a 


30 


li 


Aug. 9, 


(t 


29>^ 


li 


Aug. 16, 


i( 


28 


ii 



July 5, hips^ 

July 12, 

July 19, 

July 26, 

Aug. 2, 

Aug. 9, 

Aug. 16, 



July 5, neck, 

July 12, 

July 19, 

July 26, 

Aug. 2, 

Aug. 9, 

Aug. 16, 



inches. 



55 
51 
46 

44 
44 
42 
42 



16}4 inches. 
16 

15>^ 

14M 
14 
14 
14 



Decrease in weight . . 27 pounds. 
Decrease in bust m's're . 7 inches. 
Decrease in waist m's're 7 " 
Decrease in hip m's're .13 " 
Decrease in neck m's're 2)^ *' 

When I discharged Mrs. Baker, I told her that she now knew as 
much about the treatment for obesity as I did. She promised to con- 
tinue the regimen and let me hear from her. 

Note.— Mrs. Baker's case was complicated hy an organic difficulty and by the pres- 
sure of the fatty tissues upon the vital organs of the body. She was simply a victim of 



496 HARRIET HUBBARD AYER 

aggravated obesity. She was fully sixty pounds heavier than she should have been for 
her height. Not one stout woman in ten is that much overweight. Reduction in most 
cases therefore becomes a simpler and easier task than she was called upon to perform. 
She accomplished that task fully to her own unbounded delight and to the satisfaction of 
her family and friends. She has since kept the faith. I had not seen her for many 
months until a very few days before this note was penned. She entered my oflB.ce, not 
with other callers but alone. I looked squarely at her and, to my subsequent apologetic 
confusion, I did not recognize her until she said: "Why, don't you know me, Mrs. Ayer? 
I'm Mrs. Baker." There she stood, tall, fair proportioned, healthy, happy and beaming — a 
flower of mature womanhood, just as Nature intended she should be. 



I have thus given you in detail the history of two cases which excited 
no little attention and which called forth hundreds of letters from those 
afflicted with emaciation on the one hand, or obesity on the other. There 
seemed to lurk in the minds of some a doubt as to whether the results 
claimed could be accomplished without the aid of drugs and doctors. It 
was to establish this very fact that the experiments were undertaken, and 
it was proved beyond the shadow of a doubt that, barring constitutional 
ailments, there is hope for the thinnest or the stoutest woman in the land 
— or man for that matter, as the treatment would be practically the same 
regardless of sex. It is not a case of drugs or doctors. The remedy in 
either event rests solely with the patient. As a matter of fact, abnor- 
mally thin people live and die thin, and ultrafat people live and die fat, 
because, in most cases, they do not possess the moral courage and stamina 
to follow out the treatment and then conform to a sensible diet. Some 
begin well enough and benefit accordingly, but appetite and inclination 
get the better of good resolutions. I once had a class of more than sixty 
obesity patients ; fifty-three of these reduced themselves to a satisfactory 
condition and have since kept themselves in statu quo by observing the 
simple rules laid down. The excuse need never be made that "one must 
eat what one likes." If this were true one need not eat everything that 
one likes. Dieting is not starving, and when objectionable articles are 
eliminated there still remains a long list of good things and at a price 
within the reach of all. 

In conclusion it may be repeated that the treatment and regimen 
applies to women and men alike, and can be tested by the poor as 
well as the rich, and I feel that I may be pardoned when I say that 
it is a duty that Ve owe to ourselves, our families and even to our 
friends to keep in a normal, healthful and nonoffensive physical condi- 
tion, especially when that object can be accomplished by the observ- 
ance of a few simple rules pertaining to diet, exercise and sleep. 




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APPENDIX C 



EASILY-MADE REMEDIES AND TOILET PREPAEATIONS 




^ VERT woman will agree with me that it is the small lacks 
that mar our comfort and ruffle the domestic waters. 

In getting ready for an outing, the prudent woman 
will consider the distress of mind and body she will be- 
yond peradventure have to endure, if she court the sun 
and breezes without a well -chosen stock of healing cream, 
soothing lotions and refreshing aromatic waters. 

The following remedies will often be found useful : — 



WITCH HAZEL CREAM 

White wax, one ounce; spermaceti, one ounce; almond oil, three ounces; 
lanolin, one ounce ; place these four ingredients into the inner vessel 
of the custard boiler. Fill the outer vessel about half full of warm 
water and set over the fire. Place the inner vessel into the outer re- 
ceptacle. When all the ingredients have melted, take the inner vessel 
out, stir the mixture constantly until cold, adding little by little, dur- 
ing the stirring, three ounces of rose water, one ounce of witch hazel, 
and one drachm of tincture of benzoin. The result will be more than 
half a pound of delicious cream for the purpose suggested. 

Good toilet vinegars are very expensive if purchased over the coun- 
ter. No preparation for the toilet can be more easily compounded : — 

(499) 



500 HARRIET HUBBARD AYER 

FORMULA FOR AROMATIC VINEGAR 

Take of glacial acetic acid, 1 pound ; rectified spirits, 2 imperial 
fluid ounces, camphor (gum crushed small) 2J ounces ; oil of cloves, 
IJ drachms ; oil of rosemary, 1 drachm ; oil of bergamot, oil of cinna- 
mon, oil of lavender, oil of pimento, oil of neroli, each ^ drachm. Mix 
all together ; pour into a large bottle, and shake until the whole of 
the camphor is dissolved. 

FOR MOSQUITO STINGS 

It is said that rubbing the inflamed part with a slice of raw onion 
will effectively relieve the pain and irritation of mosquito stings. I am 
not certain that the remedy is not more disagreeable than the affliction. 

A solution of menthol in alcohol is really excellent for the stings 
of all insects. Any good apothecary will know the proper strength. 

Ivy poisoning is so painful, that it is well to have a recipe which 
can be made up easily, should it unfortunately be required. The fol- 
lowing has been most successful. It is the formula of a well-known 
physician : — 

POISONING FROM IVY 



Carbonate of lead 
Powdered arrowroot 
Powdered gum acacia . 
Hydrochlorate of cocaine 
Olive oil 



2 drachms. 

2 drachms. 
1 drachm. 

10 drachms. 

3 ounces. 



Spread over the skin affected. 



In cases of bad stings from insects, where the pain is intense, 
and there is no abrasion of the skin, an application of a weak so- 
lution of cocaine will bring instant relief. Cocaine should however 
always, if possible, be given by physician's orders. 

For daily use, merely as a grateful wash, the baby and the grand- 
mother, and all the intermediaries, will find nothing more refreshing 
and agreeable than the old-fashioned Orange Flower Water Lotion, 
made as follows : — 

ORANGE FLOWER WATER LOTION 

Glycerine 1 ounce. 

Orange flower water .... 1 pint. 
Pulverized borax 3 drachms. 



APPENDIX 501 

FRENCH MILK OF ROSES 

(A Cosmetic Wash of Renown) 

Tincture of benzoin (simple) . . ^ fluid ounce. 

Tincture of styrax -J fluid ounce. 

Esprit de rose 1 to 2 fluid drachms. 

Rectified spirits 2^ fluid ounces. 

Mix ; add gradually, rose water . 16^ fluid ounces. 

Augustin recommends the addition of a little carbonate of potash 
(say 1 dr. to the pint) when used as a lotion for acne. 

CUCUMBER CREAM 

Put six ounces of sweet almond oil into the inside receptacle 
of a custard boiler. Put as much water into the outside boiler as 
though you were about to make a custard. Set the two ( one in- 
side the other) over the fire. Have ready four good-sized cucum- 
bers. Wipe them carefully so that they are perfectly clean. Cut 
them into squares, two or three inches in size. Do not remove the 
peel. When the almond oil begins to warm, put the cucumbers in it. 
Set the custard boiler on the back of the stove, and let the water merely 
simmer for four or five hours. Strain. To six ounces of the strained 
liquid add one ounce of white wax, one of spermaceti and two ounces 
of lanolin. Heat until the wax, spermaceti and lanolin are melted. Then 
take off the fire, and beat with an egg beater until cold, adding during 
the beating process two teaspoonfuls of tincture of benzoin. This will 
make a delicious cucumber cream, if properly and carefully prepared. 

A NEW REMEDY FOR BLACKHEADS 

Doctor Hebra, of Vienna, a world-renowned dermatologist, advises 
the following for curing blackheads. Bathe the face at night with the 
following lotion : — 

Rose water 10 grammes. 

Pure alcohol 10 grammes. 

Glycerine 10 grammes. 

Powdered borax .... 5 grammes. 

After five minutes apply this mixture : — 

Pure alcohol 80 grammes. 

Spirits of lavender .... 10 grammes. 
Green soap 40 grammes. 

Wash off in the morning. 



\ 



502 ^ HARRIET HUBBARD AYER 

ANTIPHELIC LOTION FOR REMOVING FRECKLES— (Hardy) 

Bichloride of mercury ....... 1 gramme. 

Sulphate of zinc 2 grammes. 

Acetate of lead ,. , . 2 grammes. 

Distilled water enough to dissolve. 

Agitate. Add distilled water .... 260 grammes. 

Apply this lotion after bathing the skin with warm water, morning 
and night. 

This lotion will cause a slight inflammation and will gently remove 
the cuticle. It is efficacious but painful. 

A CURE FOR PARASITES — (Pierre Vigier) 
Bichloride of mercury, 5 grammes; pure glycerine, 100 grammes. Ap- 
ply to the parts afflicted. It will destroy all parasites, and can be washed 
off half an hour after it has been rubbed into the scalp, or wherever 
required. 

CURE FOR CONFLUENT ACNE — (Monin) 

Apply the following mixture to the afflicted parts morning and night : 

Glycerine 40 grammes. 

Oxide of zinc 5 grammes. 

Soap tincture 10 grammes. 

Potassa alum 2 grammes. Mix. 

For internal treatment in connection with the above, the patient 

should take each morning before breakfast one tablespoonful of a 

mixture composed of equal parts of pure glycerine and castor oil. 

TO SCATTER BOILS — (Monin) 

Apply frequent compresses wet with equal parts of tincture 6i iodine, 

tincture of arnica and spirits of camphor. If the patient will drink tar 

water in connection with the local treatment, it will aid in aborting the 

boils. 

SKIN FOOD 

White wax 1 ounce. 

Spermaceti 1 ounce. 

Lanolin 2 ounces. 

Sweet almond oil 4'^.ounces. 

Cocoanut oil 2 ounces. 

Tincture of benzoin 30 drops. 

Orange flower water 2 'ounces. 

Melt the first five ingredients together. Take off the fire and beat 

until nearly cold, adding, little by little, the benzoin, and lastly, the 

orange flower water. 



APPENDIX 503 

SULPHUR AND MOLASSES 

This is an excellent spring remedy for the skin. 

Get five cents' worth of sulphur precipitate. Put two teaspoonfuls in 
the bottom of a glass. See that there are no lumps in it. Pour six tea- 
spoonfuls of syrup or molasses on the sulphur. Stir. Take one teaspoon- 
ful of the mixture before breakfast, and one just before going to bed, for 
three days. Omit for three days. Repeat and omit for three days, until 
you have taken the preparation for nine days. 

MARSH-MALLOW LOTION 
Is said to be excellent for distended veins, and is made as follows: 

Eau de guimauve (mallows) . 200 grammes. 

Benzoate of soda .... 5 grammes. 

Glycerine 20 grammes. 

Alcohol 10 grammes. 

TO REMOVE MOTH PATCH OR LIVER MARK OF PREGNANCY 



Cocoa butter 10 grammes. 

Castor oil 10 grammes. 

Oxide of zinc .... 20 centigrammes. 

White precipitate ... 10 centigrammes. 

Essence of rose .... 10 drops. 

Apply to the moth patch night and morning. 

TO WHITEN THE HANDS— (Cazenave) 

Sweet and bitter almonds, blanched and pounded into a paste, 250 
grammes each ; lemon juice, 60 grammes ; sweet milk, 30 grammes ; 
sweet almond oil, 90 grammes ; brandy, 180 grammes. 

BALDNESS 

Where the hair falls out in spots the following is an excellent 
remedy : — 

Distilled rose water . . . 180 grammes. 



Aromatic vinegar . 
Pure glycerine . 
Tincture nux vomica 
Tincture cantharides 



20 grammes. 
10 grammes. 
15 grammes. 
10 grammes. 

Rub gently into the scalp where the hair has fallen out. 



504 HARRIET HUBBARD AYER 

ASTRINGENT POMADE FOR FLABBY, MOIST SKINS— (Monin) 



White vaseline 



30 



grammes. 



4 grammes. 
2 grammes. 
2 grammes. 
50 centigrammes. 



Extract of ralantua 
Tincture of Provence roses 
Tincture of vanilla . 
Tincture of capsicum' . 

Apply at night. 

SOAP JULEP FOR SHAMPOO 

Alcohol 8 ounces. 

Rose water 1 quart. 

Extract of rondeletia .... 2 ounces. 

White soap 14 grammes. 

Saffron v^ater 14 ounces. 

Cut the soap into small shavings. Put it upon the stove with the 
saffron and one pint of rose water, and let it boil gently until the soap 
is all melted. Then add the rest of the rose water, the alcohol and the 
rondeletia. Bottle and use as any shampoo. 

A DELIGHTFUL FRUIT VINEGAR FOR THE TOILET 

Raspberries (red), 500 grammes ; red rose leaves, a handful ; pure 
strained honey, 10 grammes. Pour a quart of white vinegar over all. 
Let stand in a glass vessel for a month ; filter, and use diluted with 
water, or pure as agreeable. 

ORIENTAL METHOD OF DARKENING THE EYELIDS — OR KOHOL 

Pulverized Chinese ink, 10 grammes; rose water heated, 120 
grammes. Stir until the mixture becomes a thick paste. Apply with 
a tiny camel's-hair brush or pad to the eyelashes and lids to give 
the languorous appearance regarded as so beautiful by Orientals. 

SIMPLE TINCTURE OF BENZOIN 

A few drops of tincture of benzoin added to the bath gives a delicious 
odor, and in larger quantities, diluted with water, benzoin serves to give 
the flesh firmness, and also possesses the quality of rendering the skin 
fair. The simple tincture can be easily made at home as follows : — 

Macerate four ounces of powdered gum benzoin ; put it into an open- 
mouthed bottle ; add one quart of pure alcohol. Let it stand a week. 
Agitate the bottle frequently. Pass it through filtering paper and it 
will be ready for use. 



APPENDIX 505 

AROMATIC VINEGAR 

Glacial acetic acid 8 ounces. 

Pure alcohol 1 ounce. 

Crushed gum camphor .... 1 J ounces. 

Oil of cloves (finest quality). . £ drachm. 

Oil of rosemary ^ drachm. 

Oil of bergamot ...... ^ drachm. 

Oil of cinnamon ^ drachm. 

Oil of lavender J drachm. 

Oil of pimento 4 drachm. 

Neroli or essence de petit grain . J drachm. 

Mix in a stoppered bottle until the whole of the camphor is dissolved. 
This makes a delicate aromatic vinegar and serves many purposes. It is 
particularly refreshing as an adjunct to the bath in warm weather. 



IMITATION LILY OF THE VALLEY 

This very delicate odor is made by mixing the following : — 

Extract of tuberose 4 ounces. 

Extract of jasmine ^ ounce. 

Extract of orange flower ... 1 ounce. 

Extract of vanilla 1^ ounces. 

Extract of cassia 2 ounces. 

Extract of rose 2 ounces. 

Oil of bitter almonds .... 1 drop. 

Keep this mixture for a month, when it will be ready to use. If care- 
fully compounded it will be as fine as any imported lily of the valley 
extract. 

JELLY OF ROSES 

This is a very nice preparation for those persons who care for the 
isinglass as an ingredient in cosmetic formulas : — 

Finest Russian isinglass ... J ounce. 

Glycerine 2 ounces. 

Rose water 6 ounces. 

Oil of roses . . . . . . .10 drops. 

Dissolve the isinglass in the rose water ; add the glycerine and oil of 
roses; beat and let stand until jellied. 



506 HARRIET HUBBARD AYER 

HOME-MADE BAY RUM 

Saturate a quarter-pound block of carbonate of magnesia with oil of 
bay ; pulverize the magnesia, place in a filter and pour water through it 
until the desired quantity is obtained, then add alcohol. The quantity 
of liquid employed depends upon the desired strength and quality of the 
bay rum. 

HONEY OF VIOLETS 

The latest fad of the fashionable woman who uses violet perfume and 
affects fresh violets for her corsage each day is a wash with which she 
rinses her mouth, and which is called "Honey of Violets." 

Expressed juice of violets . . 1 fluid ounce. 
Clarified honey 2 ounces. 

Mix, without heat, by agitation in a glass bottle. Use as a mouth 
wash and to perfume the breath. 

SPIRITS OF CAMPHOR 

Take one ounce of gum camphor ; break it into small pieces ; put it 
into a wide-necked bottle and pour nine fluid ounces of pure alcohol over 
it. Shake it till the camphor dissolves. 

FLORIDA WATER 

Oil of lavender 2 drachms. 

Oil of bergamot 2 drachms. 

Oil of lemon 2 drachms. 

Tincture of turmeric .... 1 drachm. 

Oil of neroli 1 drachm. 

Oil of balm 30 drops. 

Oil of roses 10 drops. 

Mix these together with two pints deodorized alcohol. 

COMMON COLOGNE WATER 

Oil of lavender .... 14 fluid ounces. 

Oil of rosemary .... -J fluid ounce. 

Oil of lemon 1 fluid ounce. 

Oil of cinnamon .... 20 drops. 

Alcohol 1 gallon. 

Mix well and bottle for use. 



APPENDIX 507 

STRAWBERRY VINEGAR 

This is excellent, diluted in water, for making the skin firm and 

fresh : — 

Fresh strawberries, pulled . . . . 3 pints. 
White wine vinegar 1 quart. 

Let steep seven days and strain. 



ORANGE FLOWER WATER 

Orange flowers 7 pounds. 

Fresh peel of bitter oranges . . 8 ounces. 
Water 2 gallons. 

Macerate twenty-four hours and then distill one gallon. 



ESPRIT DE ROSE 

Finest simple esprit de rose . . 1 pint. 
Essence of ambergris . . . . ^ fluid drachm. 
Essence of rose geranium . . . ^ fluid drachm. 

Mix. This makes a delicately fragrant perfume. 



CHAPPED LIPS 

Windy weather is very apt to produce chapped lips, particu- 
larly in subjects who are troubled with poor circulation. A little 
glycerine, diluted with about twice its weight of rose water, applied to 
the lips before going out will generally prevent their chapping and 
keep them in a healthful, comfortable state. 

DELICATE FACE-POWDER 

Powdered oleate of zinc ... ^ ounce. 
Powdered arrowroot .... 1 ounce. 
Oil of roses 3 drops. 

Sift through fine bolting silk. 



508 



HARRIET HUBBARD AYER 



Old-Fashioned Formulas 

Our grandmothers had great confidence in the merits of a very 
delightful and effective preparation in the shape of a skin lotion for 
every-day use known as milk of rose and elder. It is fragrant and 
pleasant to use, and has a very soothing and grateful effect upon 
highly sensitive skins : — 

SKIN LOTION 



Spermaceti .... 
White soap in powder 
White wax ( pulverized ) 
Almond oil (sweet) 
Jordan almonds 
Pure alcohol 
Distilled water . 
Attar of roses . 
Oil of neroli 
Essence of jasmine 
Essence of white rose 



12 



jrams. 

£ drachms. 

£ drachms. 

J drachms. 

ounces. 

ounces. 

ounces. 

drops. 

drops. 

^ drachm. 

^ drachm. 



3 
2 

8 
3 
5 



Blanch the almonds and beat them into a smooth paste, adding 
some water gradually to form a thin cream. Melt the wax, sperma- 
ceti and almond oil together, and to this add the soap, previously rubbed 
down, with one-half ounce of water. To this add, in small quantities, 
the remainder of the water, assiduously stirring. Then add the strained 
almond cream and finally the alcohol and the perfume. 

A little of this milk may be rubbed into the skin several times during 
the day. The effect is permanently beneficial. 



GRANDMA'S REFRESHING TOILET LOTION 

The cream your great grandmother used so successfully may be 
excellent. At any rate, you say grandma was famous for her wonderful 
skin, and this is all she ever used. 

Here is her famous formula. It was called " Grandma's Refreshing 
Toilet Lotion " and made as follows : — 

Bean flowers 1 pound. 

Rose leaves 7 ounces. 

Spring water 1 quart. 

Distill the above in a water bath until about a pint of liquid is 
produced, then add the distilled product of the juice of two lemons 



APPENDIX 509 

and perfume to taste with bergamot. Pour the mixture into a bottle, 
cork tightly and put aside for future use. To use it dip a fine linen 
cloth into the mixture and place it on the face every evening. 

A SIMPLE COMPLEXION RECIPE 

I remember my own grandmother's wonderful complexion recipe 
and how my mother guarded it as a family treasure. It is simple 
enough and there is nothing at all mysterious about it, though we 
were brought up to think so. 

Here it is, and very good, too : — 

Orange flower water .... 8 ounces. 
Tincture of benzoin .... 2 drachms. 

Add the benzoin drop by drop to the orange flower water, stirring 
constantly. 

MILK OF ROSES 

The most famous belle of Kentucky for a period of over a quar- 
ter of a century gave me a formula which she declared had preserved 
her fine skin through her long reign of belledom. She called it " Milk 
of Roses." It is made thus : — 

Place in a water bath one ounce of melted, fine, white, vegetable oil 
soap ; add six ounces of ^ure, fresh rose water. Then add an ounce 
each of spermaceti and white wax, and continue the heat until all are 
melted. Next take one pound of blanched almonds, beat them to a 
meal in a clean marble mortar, with three and one-half pints more rose 
water, admitted portion-wise during the operation. Strain this emul- 
sion without pressure through washed white muslin and run very slowly 
into the previously formed soap mixture. Mix with energy. Toward 
the end of this part of the process two drachms of attar of roses, dis- 
solved in eight ounces of pure alcohol, are to be let into the mixture 
very gradually during constant manipulation. The last operation is to 
strain, and after the liquid has had a day's repose to bottle it. Use night 
and morning. 

NINON DE L'ENCLOS BEAUTIFIER 

A lotion accredited to the beautiful Ninon de L'Enclos, but which 
in reality has been used from time immemorial, is made from half an 
ounce of tincture of benzoin, with sixteen ounces of rose water and 



510 HARRIET HUBBARD AYER 

ten drops of attar of roses. Mixed with an equal portion of sweet 
almond oil, and rubbed into the arms and neck daily, this ought to be 
a fine tissue builder. 

Complexion Hints and Recipes 
creme de pistache 

This is a very delicate cream for the skin, and is useful for tan 
and sunburn instead of the ordinary cold cream. It agrees with some 
skins better than any other emollient : — 

Pistachio nuts, one and one-half ounces ; green oil, palm soap, white 
wax and spermaceti, each one-half ounce ; orange flower water, twenty 
ounces ; essence of neroli, six ounces. Place the soap and five ounces 
of the flower water into the inner receptacle of the water bath. Put 
over the fire until the* soap is melted. Then add the green oil, wax 
and spermaceti and continue the heat until they also are melted. Put 
the pistachio nuts into a clean marble mortar, pound until they form 
a paste. Mix the remainder of the orange flower water with this paste 
and strain without pressure and run very slowly into the previously 
formed mixture. Beat continuously, adding the essence of neroli to- 
ward the latter part of the performance. 

POWDER FOR RELIEVING IRRITATION OF THE SKIN 

Powdered camphor .... 2 grammes. 
Powdered starch .... 60 grammes. 
Oxide of zinc . . . . . 15 grammes. 

Mix thoroughly. Before applying, moisten the face slightly with 
a little cold cream. 

EMULSION OF SPERMACETI FOR EXORIATIONS, CHAPS, ETC. 

Simple syrup 1^ fluid ounces. 

Powdered gum arabic ... ^ ounce. 

Mix them in a warm mortar, add of 

Spermaceti (pure) .... ^ ounce. 

Triturate with hot pestle until united ; add gradually, 

Warm water 12 fluid ounces, 

so as to make an emulsion, continuing the agitation until the liquid 

is quite cold. 



APPENDIX 511 

BLACKHEADS OF THE SKIN 
I 

Boracic acid 1 drachm. 

Alcohol 1 ounce. 

Rose water 2 ounces. 

Use with friction twice a day on the skin affected. 

II 

Ether 1 ounce. 

Soap liniment 1 ounce. 

Upon retiring for the night, rub into the spots affected, and in the 
morning wash the surface with hot water. 

The following preparation will be found excellent for the com- 
plexion : — 

Sweet almonds . . . . . 32 grammes. 

Bitter almonds 10 grammes. 

Rose water 180 grammes. 

Make the emulsion, and add, 

Benzoate of soda .... 1 gramme. 

The following is another recipe of great efficacy in obliterating 
wrinkles, and also the traces of smallpox : — 

Alcohol 12 grammes. 

Tincture of benzoin ... 2 grammes. 

Liquid storax 2 grammes. 

Balsam of Judea .... 5 drops. 

Add four or five drops of the mixture to half a glass of water, 
and use this at night as a lotion, letting it dry on the face. In the 
morning wash the face in water from which the chill has been taken off. 

For coarse complexions a very effectual remedy is a cotton mask 
saturated with distilled water and worn at night. To refine a coarse, 
stippled skin, six or seven weeks will be necessary, but the result will 
be ample compensation for the trouble taken. 

An excellent paste for refining the complexion is composed of three 
ounces of ground barley, one ounce of honey and the white of an Qgg- 
This is to be spread at night on the cheeks, nose and forehead, and 
washed off in the morning with tepid water. 
A.— 27 



512 HARRIET HUBBARD AYER 

For a blotched skin a wash composed of one ounce of glycerine, 
half an ounce of rosemary water and twenty drops of carbolic acid, 
will be found very effectual. 

SKIN FOOD WITHOUT LANOLIN 

Sweet almond oil. . . . . .4 ounces. 

Spermaceti 1 ounce. 

White wax . . 1 ounce. 

* Pulverized borax 1^ drachms. 

Glycerine ' ^i ounces. 

Orange flower water . . . . ^ ounce. 

Oil of neroli 1 drop. 

Tincture of benzoin ^ drachm. 

Melt the wax, spermaceti and oil of almonds together. Dissolve the 
borax in the orange flower water and glycerine. Add to the melted in- 
gredients, stirring continually. The mixture must be beaten until it is 
cold. Just before the mass hardens add the benzoin drop by drop and 
the perfume. 

FOR RELAXED SKIN 

Where the skin is much relaxed a slightly astringent water may be 
used with good effect :^ — ■ 

Get eight ounces of orange flower water and one-fourth drachm of 
simple tincture of benzoin. Drop the benzoin a little at a time into the 
orange flower water. Shake the bottle. The result will be a milky 
liquid. Dip a linen cloth into a little of this liquid and bathe the face. 
If it feel drawn add a little more orange flower water. Tincture of ben- 
zoin varies somewhat in strength. It should not feel uncomfortable upon 
the face. When it does, and pulls the skin, it is too powerful. 

FOR SHINY SKIN 

If as well as being shiny the skin appear greasy also, you cannot do 
better than bathe it twice a day with this lotion : — 



Sulphate of zinc 30 grains. 

Eau de Cologne 1 ounce. 

Rose water 2 ounces. 



LOTION FOR AN OILY SKIN (No. i) 

There is nothing more discouraging than the oily face, which seems 
to be constitutional, almost, with some women. I have had good 



APPENDIX • 513 

success lately with the simple remedy which I here give, and which 
in many cases will remove the shiny appearance of the most obdurate 
oily faces : — 

Boric acid 1 drachm. 

Distilled witch hazel .... 4 ounces. 

Apply with a piece of old linen or a bit of absorbent cotton. 

LOTION FOR AN OILY SKIN (No. 2) 

An old remedy for an oily skin is being revived. It is made as fol- 
lows : — 

Pulverized borax 1 ounce. 

Pure glycerine 2 ounces. 

Camphor water (not spirits of camphor) 2 quarts. 

The skin should be bathed with this lotion two or three times a 
day, and the treatment should be persisted in for three months at least. 

LOTION FOR AN OILY SKIN (No. 3) 

Where the oiliness of the skin is excessive the following lotion ap- 
plied two or three times daily is excellent : — 

Sulphate of zinc 2 grains. 

Compound tincture of lavender . 8 drops. 
Distilled water 1 ounce. 

FOR DRY AND SCALY SKIN 

When the skin is inclined to become dry and scaly from expo- 
sure, the following lotion mav be used with excellent effect : — 

Iodide of potassium . . 1 to 2 drachms. 
Distilled water 1 pint. 

Dissolve and add one ounce of pure glycerine. 

TO SOFTEN THE SKIN OF THE FACE 

Lanolin 1 ounce. 

Almond oil 1 ounce. 

Simple tincture of benzoin . . ^ ounce. 

Mix the three ingredients thoroughly together and rub into the 
skin at night before going to bed. 



514 HARRIET HUBBARD AYER 

BLOTCHY SKINS 

The following wash will sometimes be found very effective for this 
most annoying trouble : — 

Glycerine 1 ounce. 

Rosemary water ^ ounce. 

Carbolic acid 20 drops. 

Mix thoroughly and apply to the face with a soft bit of linen or a 
velvet sponge. 

CUCUMBERS FOR THE COMPLEXION 

The average girl, country or city, knows little of the value of cucum- 
bers as a complexion beautifier. 

Peel a cucumber, cut in thick slices, and apply to the face, allowing 
the liquid to dry of its own accord. This will make the skin soft and 
white. 

NEW CURE FOR WRINKLES 

Even very young women are seen with strongly-marked wrinkles in 
the forehead which they have acquired through contracting the brows. 
A friend tells me that these wrinkles will disappear under the following 
treatment : — - 

Bind the forehead at night with a compress of new linen soaked in a 
mixture of equal parts of alcohol and white of egg. Allow the compress 
to remain on all night and continue the treatment until the wrinkles 
have disappeared. 

Wrinkles may sometimes be effaced by the following treatment, if 
persistently continued : — 

Cut some narrow strips of court-plaster, then, with the thumb and 
forefinger of one hand, stretch the skin furrowed by the wrinkle until 
it is perfectly smooth, and with the other hand apply over the wrinkle 
a strip of the court-plaster. This application is of course best made 
at night. 

The following mixture, used as a lotion, is of great eflBcacy in re- 
moving wrinkles, but it is a little difficult to prepare, and requires, in 
addition, to be distilled : — 

In 350 grammes of alcohol dissolve, 

Pulverized gum benzoin . . 2 grammes. 

Frankincense 2 grammes. 

Gum arable 2 grammes. 




ijCILBERT 



THE PROPER WAY TO USE THE CAMEL'S-HAIR FACE-SCRUBBING BRUSH 



(516) 



APPENDIX ' 517 

When dissolved add, 

Pine-nut kernels, pulverized . 3 grammes. 

Sweet almonds, pulverized . 3 grammes. 

Cloves, pulverized .... 1 gramme. 

Nutmeg, pulverized .... 1 gramme. 

Let the mixture stand for two days, stirring it twice daily. Then 
add, 

Rose water 45 grammes. 

Distill to half the quantity. 

If a still is not at hand, a substitute may be made by fastening 
to the spout of the kettle an India-rubber tube, which, passing through 
a vessel of cold water, will conduct the steam, condensed in its pas- 
sage through the water, into a receiving vessel. 

LOTION FOR PREMATURE WRINKLES 

Rose water 12 fluid ounces. 

Almond milk 3 fluid ounces. 

Sulphate of aluminium . 120 grains. 

FOR BROWN SPOTS 

Brown spots are caused by some disturbance of the liver. I don't 
think any external application will have very much effect so long as the 
cause remains. You might try this lotion, which will at least be tem- 
porarily effective : — 

Bichloride of mercury (coarse powder) . 12 grains. 

Extract of witch hazel 2 ounces. 

Rose water 2 ounces. 

Mix. Mop over the spots night and morning. Bichloride of mercury 
is a dangerous poison, and while perfectly proper to use as here sug- 
gested, should be kept out of the reach of ignorant persons and children. 

INSTEAD OF COLD CREAM 

Cold cream disagrees with many skins. If it make the skin rough 
try a little sweet almond oil, slightly perfumed with attar of roses or 
bergamot every night after washing. It should be well massaged in, 
and the face then gently wiped with a soft rag or towel till all superflu- 
ous oil is removed, 



518 HARRIET HUBBARD AYER 

TO CURE RINGWORM 

To cure ringworm, add to one part of sulphuric acid sixteen to twenty 
parts water. Use a brush or feather, and apply it to the ringworm night 
and morning. A few dressings will generally cure. If the solution be 
too strong dilute it with more water, and if the irritation be excessive 
apply a little vaseline, but avoid soap. 

A dainty rose soap is made as follows : — 

ROSEBUD SOAP 

White castile soap (pure) . . 3 pounds. 

White curd soap 2 pounds. 

Distilled water ^ pint. 

Melt together in a custard boiler, and add of 

Vermilion (powdered) ... ^ ounce. 

After the mixture has cooled a little, stir in 

Attar of roses ...... 1 drachm. 

Oil of bergamot 1^ drachms. 

Oil of cinnamon £ drachm. 

Oil of rose geranium ... ^ drachm. 

Pour into molds to harden. 

ENLARGED PORES 

It takes a long time to cure enlarged pores, and the only way I know 
of is by the use of the scrubbing brush and a pure hygienic soap. By 
this process the pores, which have become enlarged by the clogged secre- 
tions, are kept free, and gradually they will contract and become normal 
in size. I know of thousands of cures effected in this manner. 

FOR OBSTINATE FRECKLES 

Where everything else has failed, the woman with obstinate freckles 
may with benefit try the formula I here give and which has succeeded 
in a very obdurate case under my care : — 

Oxide of zinc ^ drachm. 

Subiodide of bismuth ... ^ drachm. 

Dextrin 1£ drachms. 

Glycerine 1^ drachms. 

Spread the paste upon the freckles at night before going to bed. 
In the morning remove what remains with a little powdered borax and 
sweet oil. 



APPENDIX 519 

HEROIC REMEDY FOR FRECKLES 

Distilled water 12 ounces. 

Dextrin 1 ounce. 

Glycerine 4 ounces. 

Oxide of zinc 320 grains. 

Oxychloride of bismuth . . . 120 grains. 

Mercuric chloride 12 grains. 

This being a powerful application, it should be used very sparingly 
and applied to the parts affected with a soft camel's-hair brush. 

A SIMPLE FRECKLE LOTION 

Light freckles may in a measure be controlled in some cases by 
bathing the face frequently with a lotion composed of three grains of 
borax in five drachms each of rose water and orange flower water. 

LEMON JUICE FOR FRECKLES 

Thirty grains of pulverized borax, dissolved in two and one-half ounces 
of lemon juice, makes a lotion that is very effective in keeping freckles 
in abeyance, where it agrees with the skin. 

It should be applied at night after the face has been thoroughly 
washed and rinsed. 

HINTS ON THE HAIR 
Tonic for the Falling Hair After Illness 



FOR FALLING HAIR (No. i) 

Vinegar of cantharides ... 1 ounce. 

Cologne water 1 ounce. 

Glycerine of borax 1 ounce. 

Add distilled water until the whole amounts to six ounces. Rub 
this mixture into the roots of the hair every night. 

FOR FALLING HAIR (No. 2) 

Aromatic vinegar 3 drachms. 

Acetic acid 1 ounce. 

Tincture of cantharides ... 1 ounce. 

Lavender water 2 ounces. 

Rose water 6 ounces. 

This should be well rubbed in the roots three times a week at bed- 
time, before brushing it, 



520 



HARRIET HUBBARD AYER 



CURE FOR BALD SPOTS 



Where the hair falls out in spots try the following wash 

Distilled rose water 
Aromatic vinegar 
Pure glycerine 
Tincture of nux vomica 
Tincture of cantharides 



180 grammes. 
20 grammes. 
10 grammes. 
15 grammes. 
10 grammes. 



Mix thoroughly ; apply night and morning with friction. 

FOR EARLY BALDNESS 

The following lotion has produced a growth of hair upon bald 
spots. It is not recommended when baldness is of long standing or 
where the scalp has assumed the gloss or shine peculiar to the skin 
after the actual death of the hair roots, but in young cases it has been 
very successful : — 



Sulphate of quinine 
Tincture of cantharides 
Tincture of rhatany 
Spirits of lavender . 

Glycerine 

Alcohol 



8 grains. 
1^ drachms. 
2^ drachms. 
1 ounce. 

^ ounce. 

8 ounces. 



Apply night and morning until the new growth is established. 



FOR DRYNESS OF THE HAIR 

Cocoanut oil 1^ ounces. 

Lanolin 1 ounce. 

Glycerine 4 drachms. 

Tincture of jaborandi ... 4 drachms. 

Rub the mixture well into the hair every night. It should remedy 
the dryness. 

TONIC FOR THE SCALP 



Aromatic vinegar 

Glycerine 

Tincture of nux vomica 
Tincture of cantharides 
Rose water . . . . 



drachms, 
drachms. 



2J drachms. 
2 drachms. 
6 drachms. 



Use every night, rubbing it well into the scalp with a small sponge, 



APPENDIX 521 

A HAIR TONIC 

Cologne 8 ounces. 

Tincture of cantharides ... 1 ounce. 
Oil of English lavender ... ^ drachm. 

Oil of rosemary J drachm. 

Apply to the roots of the hair once or twice a day. It is posi- 
tively necessary that the scalp should be kept clean. Shampoo at least 
once a week. 

LOTION FOR DRY HAIR 



Phenic acid .... 
Tincture of nux vomica 
Tincture of red cinchona 
Tincture of cantharides . 

Cologne 

Sweet almond oil 



2 grammes. 

7^ grammes. 
30 grammes. 

2 grammes. 

180 grammes. 

60 prammes. 



Apply to the roots of the hair with a soft sponge once or twice a 
day. This lotion is especially good for very dry hair. 



A FAMOUS HAxR TONIC 

Twenty-five years ago a hair tonic called "Tricopherous" was used in 
every city and town in the United States. Its originator made a for- 
tune. The formula was long a secret. Tricopherous was made as 
follows : — 

Castor oil ^ pint. 

Pure alcohol ^ pint. 

Tincture of cantharides . . ^ ounce. 

Oil of bergamot 2 drachms. 

Color a pale pink with alkanet root. 

TONIC FOR OILY HAIR 

Witch hazel 2 ounces. 

Alcohol 2 ounces. 

Distilled water 1 ounce. 

Resorcin 40 grains. 

Apply every night, rubbing it thoroughly into the scalp. 



522 HARRIET HUBBARD AYER 

TEA HAIR TONIC 

Black tea as a basis for a hair tonic is successful in many cases. 

It can be made so easily and costs so little that it is worth trying. 

Formula : — 

Bay rum 2 ounces. 

Glycerine 2 ounces. 

Alcohol 2 ounces. 

Infusion of black tea .... 10 ounces. 

Mix and perfume to suit. 

The tea infusion should be made very strong, say an ounce of tea 
to ten or twelve ounces of boiling water. Let it steep for twenty 
minutes, then stand till cool; strain and add the other ingredients ; 
apply with a soft Sponge to the roots of the hair. It will darken 
blond hair. 

KEROSENE HAIR WASH 

Kerosene oil is unquestionably a tonic and a hair grower. The dis- 
advantages are in its odor and the fact that it is so inflammable. The 
way to use it is to rub the roots of the hair well at night with pure kero- 
sene, which should be left on until the following morning. Then the 
hair should be shampooed, and the kerosene application should be re- 
peated about every fourth night. I do not advise kerosene, because its 
use has been attended by so many accidents. 



AN EXCELLENT SHAMPOO 

Melt a cake of pure olive oil soap in a quart of boiling water. When 
the soap is dissolved the result will be almost a jelly. Take of this jelly, 
say, two large tablespoonfuls, and a small lump of common w^ashing soda 
about the size of a filbert. 



PASTES FOR CHAPPED HANDS 
I 

Ground barley, the white of an egg, one teaspoonful of glycerine 
?ind one ounce of honey. 



APPENDIX 523 



II 



Home-made soft soap .... ^ pound. 

Olive oil 1 gill. 

Mutton tallow 1 ounce. 

After boiling these together, remove them from the fire before 
adding 

Spirits of wine ...... 1 gill. 

Ambergris, or some other perfume, to an amount to suit the taste, 
always being on your guard not to scent things too highly. 

Ill 

Refined pine tar ...... 1 teaspoonful. 

Olive oil 1 pint. 

Melt in water bath, scenting with rose water or some other per- 
fume. This is a preparation which does not spoil. 

The following two preparations, for use with cosmestic gloves, are 
slightly more elaborate : — 

I 

Myrrh . 1 ounce. 

Honey . 4 ounces. 

Yellow wax . . . . . . . 2 ounces. 

Rose water 6 ounces. 

Melt the wax in a water bath, and add the myrrh to it while it 
is hot. After beating them up together, add the honey and rose 
water. Beat all up and add glycerine by the teaspoonful until you 
secure a paste which will spread nicely. , 

II 

Oil of sweet almonds .... 2 teaspoonfuls. 

Glycerine 1 teaspoonful. 

Rice flour 1 teaspoonful. 

Fresh eggs ....... 2 yolks. 

Rose water 1 ounce. 

Tincture of benzoin .... 36 drops. 

Beat up until the mixture forms a paste, 



524 HARRIET HUBBARD AYER 

III 

Another preparation for cosmetic gloves is made as follows : — 

Fresh eggs 2 yolks. 

Oil of sweet almonds ... 2 tablespoonfuls. 

Rose water 30 grammes. 

Tincture of benzoin ... 8 grammes. 

Beat the yolks with the oil ; then add the rose water, and lastly the 
tincture of benzoin. 

BURNS 

Boracic acid 1 drachm. 

Glycerine 1 ounce. 

Olive oil 1 ounce. 

BURNS AND SCALDS 
I 

Bicarbonate of sodium .... 1 ounce. 
Subnitrate of bismuth 1 ounce. 

II 

• 

Creasote 30 drops. 

Cocaine hydrochlorate 20 grains. 

Lime water 1 pint. 

Linseed oil 1 pint. 

Ill 

Solution of subacetate of lead . 2 ounces. 

Tincture of opium 1 ounce. 

Distilled witch hazel 1 ounce. 



Household Remedies 

baldness 
I 

Ointment of 10 per cent, oleate of mercury . ^ ouncQ. 
Lanolin, or prepared suet ^ ounce. 



Rub well into the scalp. 



APPENDIX 525 



II 



Tincture of capsicum .... 2 drachms. 

Water of ammonia 1 ounce. 

Pilocarpine hydrochlorate ... 5 grains. 

Cologne 3 ounces. 

Use on the scalp twice a day. 



Ill 

Fluid extract of pilocarpine . . 1 ounce. 
Soap liniment 3 ounces. 

Rub thoroughly into the scalp night and morning. 



BITES OF INSECTS AND ERUPTIONS 

I 

Beta-naphthol ...... 1 drachm. 

Cologne ^ pint. 

Apply to the irritated skin. This is suitable for alleviating the 
smarting from the bites of any kind of insects. 



II 

Ointment of oleate of mercury . 1 ounce. 
Camphor 10 grains. 

Rub well into the skin. 

Ill 

Ipecacuanha 1 ounce. 

Alcohol 1 ounce. 

Apply to the skin. 



THE EYES AND EYEBROWS 

When the eyes have become irritated through excessive use, a 
compress of fine linen wet with very cold water applied to them 
and changed as often as it becomes warm will generally relieve 



526 HARRIET HUBBARD AYER 

them. If the irritation continue, the following lotion will probably 
prove efficacious : — 

Distilled water 1 kilogramme. 

Rosemary flowers 30 grammes. 

Steep the rosemary flowers in the water for a week, then strain, 
and to the strained water add the following : — 

Rose water 30 grammes. 

Brandy ........ 30 grammes. 

The Moorish women darken their eyebrows and eyelashes with a 
dye made as follows : — 

Gallnuts . 25 grammes. 

Sulphate of iron 5 grammes. 

Water 150 grammes. 

Boil the gallnuts in the water for half an hour, strain through fine 
muslin, and add to the strained water the five grains of the sulphate of 
iron. Boil again until the liquor is reduced to two-thirds. Apply with 
a sable pencil to the eyebrows and to the edge of the eyelid at the roots 
of the lashes. The operation is to be repeated three times. The bottle 
containing the dye should be tightly corked. 

FOR SCANT EYEBROWS 

Nothing so weakens the expression of a woman's face as scant, 
scraggy eyebrows. Women so afflicted should use the following oint- 
ment, which will strengthen the growth and improve their appearance : — 

Red vaseline 2 ounces. 

Tincture of cantharides ... ^ ounce. 

Oil of lavender . * 15 drops. 

Oil of rosemary 15 drops. 

Mix thoroughly. Apply to the eyebrows with a tiny toothbrush 
once a day until the growth is sufficiently stimulated. Then less often. 

This ointment may be used for the eyelashes also. In this case 
it should be very carefully applied. It will inflame the eyes, as any 
oil will, if it get into them. 

Whatever one may think of the propriety of clipping the eye- 
lashes, there can be no two opinions as to the cutting of the eyebrows 
or in any way subjecting them to the action of the scissors or razor. 



APPENDIX 527 

The beauty of the eyebrow consists in its being" smooth, glossy and 
well defined ; in having little breadth vertically and in extending in a 
graceful arched line over the eyes. 

Cutting them ultimately destroys all these qualities by causing 
them to grow coarse, stiff and irregular. The toilet of the eyebrow 
is simple. A tiny brush, moistened with a very little vaseline, may be 
passed over the eyebrow and the brush may be used to narrow the 
form. This is all the care they require. 

If eyebrows are too scanty the face is likely to look insipid, 
while those of the bushy variety are not artistic, and tend to make 
one look unduly fierce or masculine. The color should be a shade 
darker than the hair. 

The brows must never be rubbed or brushed except from the roots 
to the ends. Women sometimes fall into the habit of rubbing them 
the wrong way. After they have been treated in this manner it will 
be almost impossible to get them to lie flat and smooth, and they soon 
become short and bristly. 











APPENDIX D 



List of Medicated Soaps 



Alum Soap, used in greasy seborrheas, pustular eczema, etc. 

Amber Soap, used for enlarged glands, moles, warts, etc. 

Arnica Soap, used for abrasions, wounds, bruises, boils, carbuncles, 
sore nipples, etc. 

Balsam Soap, used in indolent ulcers, etc. 

Boro-Glyceride Soap, used for cleansing wounds and ulcers, and 
in allaying inflammation, etc. 

Camphor Soap, frequently used for pruritus, accompanying eczema, 
chilblains, etc. 

Carbolic Acid Soap, used in chronic eczema, etc. 

Chamomile Soap, used for chafed surfaces, for seborrhea, for exces- 
sive secretion of the skin, and foul-smelling sores. 

Chamomile and Sulphur Soap, used in dry seborrhea, loss of hair, 
etc. 

Elder Flower Soap, used in sunburn, etc. 

Ergot Soap, used in eczema, etc. 

EucALYPTOL Soap, used for foul-smelling sores and ulcers, and also 
for fetid perspiration. 

Glycerine Soap, used for roughness of the skin, chapping, etc. 

Iodide of Sulphur Soap, used for chronic ulcers, yellowish-brown 
or blackish patches on the skin, freckles, etc. 

Iodine Soap, used for scrofulous skin affections, etc. 

Kino Soap, used for eczema, ulcers, etc. 
(528) 



APPENDIX 529 

Lead Soap, used for boils, carbuncles, abrasions of the skin, bed- 
sores, etc. 

Napthol Soap, used for fetid perspiration, and in eczema, and for 
bites of insects. 

Napthol-Sulphue Soap, used for itching, bites of insects, eczema, 
seborrhea and fetid perspiration. 

Salicylic Acid Soap, used in thickening the skin on the palms of 
the hands and soles of the feet, for pustular eczema, fetid perspiration, 
foul wounds and sores, and for toilet purposes. 

Sublimate or Bichloride of Mercury Soap, used in animal para- 
sitic diseases, freckles, pigmentary spots on the skin, and effective in 
relieving itching of the skin. 

Sulphur Soap, used in rosacea, etc. 

Tannin Soap, used for ulcers, for excessive perspiration,, oily sebor- 
rhea, etc. 

Tannin-Balsam Soap, used for wounds, ulcers, chilblains, etc. 

Tar Soap, used in chronic eczema, etc. 

Thymol Soap, used for ulcers, wounds and pustular eczema, etc. 

Turpentine Soap. This soap is sometimes used under the name 
of "Starkey's Soap." It is used for chilblains, etc. 

WiNTERGREEN SoAP, uscd in eczema, etc. 

Witch-Hazel Soap, used in eczema, for fetid perspiration, and in 
loss of hair. 

A.— 28 





APPENDIX E 



Table of Measures 

1 pint contains 16 fluid ounces (4 gills). 

1 ounce contains 8 fluid drachms (^ giU)* 

1 tablespoonful contains about ^ fluid ounce. 

1 teaspoonful contains about 1 fluid drachm. 

1 teaspoonful is equal in volume to 45 drops of pure water (dis- 
tilled) at 60 degrees Fahrenheit. 

4 teaspoonfuls are equal to 1 tablespoonful or ^ fluid ounce. 

16 tablespoonfuls are equal to ^ pint. 

1 wineglassful (common size) contains 4 tablespoonfuls, or 2 
fluid ounces. 

1 teacupful is equal to 8 fluid ounces or 2 gills. 

4 teacupfuls are equal to 1 quart. 

1 common-sized tumbler holds about ^ pint. 

1 gramme equals 15 and a fraction grains. 

32 grammes equal 1 ounce. 

125 grammes equal 4 ounces. 

500 grammes equal 16 ounces. 
(530) 




MRS. AVER AND HER DAUGHTER, MARGARET 

FROM VERY RECENT PHOTOGRAPH 

This is tlie little daughter" shown on page 32. 



(531) 




j^mn]'' 



Abdomen, deep breathing for, 431 ; how to re- 
duce, 353; average woman weak about the, 
353. 

Abscesses, produced from using bust developer, 
253. 

Acids, mineral, destructive to the nails, 283; 
lactic, its formation and effect upon the 
teeth, 231 ; acidity of the stomach destructive 
to the complexion, 206; acetic, in removal of 
smallpox marks, 168. 

Afflictions, physical, not a part of God's work, 47. 

Age, the first signs of, 249; lines of, 255; 
every woman looks her; amatterof feeling,41. 

Almond meal, formula for 280 

Amandine, formula for, a delightful compound 
for the toilet, 280. 

Ambidextrousness, advisability of; how children 
can be trained to, 279. 

Animals, care we bestow upon 47 

Arm, The bony, not necessary, 243 ; superfluous 
hair on, 246 ; lumpy, not beautiful, 243 ; de- 
scription of beautiful, 244; effect of scrubbing- 
brush on ; lotion for red ; lotion for whitening, 
246 ; treatment for, when unusually thin, 245 ; 
rough skin made smooth on, 247 ; exercises to 
develop flaccid, 248; to remove superfluous 
hair from, 111; to bleach superfluous hair 
upon, 112. 

B 

Baby, The, general rules for feeding, 385 ; first 
thing to be done for the newborn, 380; treat- 
ment of navel cord after it separates, 385; 
newborn, need no artificial food; wet nurse 
best substitute for mother; mistake for nurses 
to feed newborn, 384; how to prepare cow's 
milk for, 389 ; clothing for, 383 ; long, useless 
dresses for, 384 ; care of a teething, 226 ; when 
it should be weaned, 389 ; schedule of diet for, 
when brought up by hand, 386-8; important 
to know how to carry ; old-fashioned method 



of pinning clothes abandoned; great care 
should be devoted to dressing, 393 ; tempera- 
ture of room and bath when bathing ; bathing 
and dressing, 390; when, should commence to 
walk ; accomplishments of ,396 ; model nursing 
bottle for ; old-time nursing tube responsible 
for death of; bottle-fed versus nursing; diet- 
ary for, discussed, 395; vaseline takes the 
place of powder for; doctors' opinion on ven- 
tilation for; don't rock, to sleep, 394; weights 
and measurements of, 397; when troubled 
with weak eyes ; time should be allowed out 
of doors, 396 ; good looks of; may be trained 
into great physical beauty, 398 ; when, should 
cut its teeth; increase of weight in ; weight of, 
at birth, 397; care of teeth of, 403; remedy 
for prickly heat; treatment for scald head, 
404; how to mold outstanding ears, 398; 
skeleton cap for outstanding ears, 401; many 
young, have bumpy heads ; treatment for mis- 
shapen heads, 402 ; how to mold flat noses, 
401-2; how to dress the newborn, 380. 

Bacteria multiply when assisted by conditions 

of warmth, 231. 
Bags, recipe for bran and almond meal .... 71 

Baker, Martha (Appendix B), how she was 
cured of obesity without drugs, 477 ; her di- 
mensions at beginning of treatment; her 
bill of fare, 478 ; her condition at the end of 
her second week's treatment, 482; her meas- 
urements at three periods during treatment, 
484; her weights and measurements at 
weekly periods during her treatment, 488; 
exercise, 491 ; a letter from patient after her 
cure, 492; a day's treatment of, 460; the 
cure perfected, 469; reports of the jury who 
examined her case ; her letter of thanks for 
her cure, 470 ; another letter from the patient 
one year later, 478. 

Baldness, treatment for; lotion for; liniment 
for, 526 ; cure for, spots ; lotion for early, 520. 

(533) 



534 



GENERAL INDEX 



Bath, beauty recipe for; gelatine recipe for; 
the aristocracy's recipe for, 84; when to take 
sea, 365 ; value of sea; sea, poor for the com- 
plexion, 70; Turkish, when to take, 79; sul- 
phur; the electric, a rejuvenator, 80; aro- 
matic, for nervous women, 83; hard water 
apt to make skin coarse, 69; toilet water for; 
Hungary water for; aromatic vinegar for; 
cautions concerning; when to take a cold, 75; 
when to take as a stimulant, 72 ; luxuries per- 
taining to, 71; time after eating for; the all- 
over scrub; effects of quick, hot, and tepid; 
to induce sleep; value of rain water for, 69; 
few women know real meaning of; the great 
secret of beauty; first of all the daily, 65; 
temperature of, 66. 

Battery, cost of 10-cell galvanic 83 

Beauty, the value of cleanliness to, 142; the 
national habit of pie-eating a foe to, 126; 
will cause a man to fall in love, 85 ; the road 
to, known to the Greeks and Romans, 65 ; the 
price of perfect physical, 64; versus temper, 
114 ; no moral danger in, 56 ; restoration of 
youthful ; to prevent the destruction of ; the 
maximum possibility for, 49 ; no royal road 
to, 46; pursuit of, as old as the world, 40; its 
opulent and splendid maturity; pursuit of, 
owes its origin toman; crown of life's happi- 
ness, 36; every woman desires to possess, 35; 
we were created with a love of; woman the 
highest expression of, 30 ; every vestige of, 
goes from the woman who drinks; nothing 
will so soon destroy, as dissipation, 325; ex- 
cess is fatal to, 326; dependent upon health, 
359; not possible without good health, 244; 
youthful, of American girl, rarely outlives 
third society season, 321; effect of dissipation 
on, 327; types of, 265. 

Beds should not be soft 372 

Bergman, Miss, a skillful teacher of Swedish 
movements, 354. 

Bernhardt's, Sara, tribute to hot water; how 
she retained her marvelous complexion, 75 ; 
fascinating at fifty, 42. 

Blackheads, first place of appearance of, 141; 
the one way of getting rid of, 138 ; appearance 
of, in the skin, 137 ; value of camel' s-hair face- 
scrubbing brush in cases of, 140 ; treatment 
previous to removal of; careful operation of 
removing, 138; a Vienna dermatologist's 
remedy for; treatment of obstinate cases, 139 ; 
in the shell of the ear; how to remove, 220. 

Blemishes, above and below the skin; warts and 
moles; pigmentary and hairy; coloring mat- 
ter which causes, 164; warts and the removal 
of; extreme care necessary in application of 
remedies for; danger of leaving marks in re- 
moving, 165. 



Body, symmetry of upper and lower; dispropor- 
tion of, 262. 
Borax, solution of, for teething babies .... 226 

Botot, formula for the famous eau 229 

Breath, formula for offensive, 223; time to take 

a full, 343. 
Breathing, a good system of, 331; first of all 
should come proper, 328 ; deep, may become a 
natural accompaniment; nine-tenths of our 
colds can be cured by; few of us make a 
practice of deep; ordinary, does not reach 
the bottom of the lungs, 331 ; cultivate, in the 
open air, 332. 
Brush, for the flesh; every woman should 
possess, 66 ; children should be taught the use 
of the tooth, 226; camel' s-hair face-scrubbing, 
description of, where obtained, 66. 
Bunions, cause of; how to treat, 308; how to 
prevent, 309; pointed-toed shoes a maker of, 
310. 

Burns, formula to relieve 524 

Bust, treatment for increasing the; to make 
firm the, 254 ; abnormal development of the ; 
the padded, of twenty-five years ago, 252; 
how to decrease a too fleshy, 253. 



Calisthenics, meaning of, 244 ; books on, for use 
of dumb-bells, 336. 

Cathay skin food 421 

Catherine Lane (Appendix A ) — A human 
wreck restored to health and beauty without 
drugs or stimulants of any kind, 456. 

Chalk, camphorated, formula for 226 

Character, how to read, from the features, 405 ; 
not fair to judge of, because of one feature, 
406. 

Charms, preservation of, 46 ; that keep a woman 
queen of her realm, 266. 

Chest, The, movements for developing, 344; 
training for girls with flat, 345 ; expansion, 
simple methods to develop, 349. 

Chilblains, cause of, a treatment for, 288 ; treat- 
ment by electricity, 166. 

Child, the right to be well born of every, 379. 

Chin, The, receding indicates weak will power; 
a telltale feature, 410; the square, a good 
sign; a round and well- formed, denotes a 
sweet temper, 413; premature double, 251. 

Cleanliness, personal; will preserve a man's 
affection, 85; next to Godliness, 65. 

Churchill's, Lady Randolph, graceful neck and 
head, 250. 

Collars, linen and pretty necks, 254; marks 
about the throat, 243; the close-fitting re- 
stricts circulation, 256; the high stiff, destruc- 
tive to pretty throats, 255.. 

Comeliness recommends virtue 46 



GENERAL INDEX 



535 



Complexion, the American girl's poor, 125; for 
brown spots on the ; what to use when cold 
cream does not agree with the, 517, cucumbers 
for the, 514; for refining coarse; excellent 
preparation for the, 511 ; a simple recipe for, 
509; skin food for, without lanolin, 512; 
effects of lacing on, 270 ; efficacy of hot cloths 
in the treatment of; Austrian women noted 
for their fine, 156 ; wretchedness of a woman 
with a poor, 129; general ignorance about 
treatment of, 151; of red-haired girls, 55; 
summer trying to the ; to preserve the, against 
sun and wind, 190. 

Consumption, symptoms of 254 

Corns, causes of; to remove soft; to relieve 
pain of; pernicious effect of acids in treat- 
ment of ; a cure for, 306 ; a French plaster for, 
307. 

Corsets, what they will do for a woman's figure, 
not necessary for slight, willowy women, 275 ; 
well constructed a blessing; nonsense written 
about, 272; mistake American women make 
in buying "the coffin," which makes a trav- 
esty of the human form, 276. 

Cosmetics, shall we use, and when, 436 ; a liquid 
rouge, 440; formula for rouge; formula for a 
white face-powder, 439; a liquid whitener; 
the atrocious "made-up" woman, 438; use 
of, among our grandmammas, 436 ; the man 
who objects to, 436 ; the time when a woman 
should use; indiscriminate painting of the 
face, hair dyeing, or bleaching; woman should 
always be the judge in use of; attacks on, 435 ; 
unbecoming to youthful faces, 437. 

Cramps, what to do when attacked by 265 

Cuticle, affections of, treatment by galvanic 
current; blemishes cured by absorption, 166. 

D 

Dandruff, the cause of, 101; the effect of poor 
diet and bad ventilation on ; formula to keep 
from accumulating; scurf or furfura; Dr. 
Vigier's remedy for; parasites; substances 
for removing, 102. 

Dentifrice, formula for famous, 229. 

Dentistry, preventive measures of, 232 ; we live 
in the age of wonderful, 222; beautiful scien- 
tific, of to-day, 228; enamel inlays taking 
the place of gold fillings, 234; enamel of the 
teeth worn away by incorrect brushing, 226; 
features restored by cosmetic, 235. 

Depilatories, great care advised in use of, 247. 

Digestion, walking an aid to; low spirits ruin; 
laughter will aid, 420. 

Dowdiness, danger of drifting into, not confined 
to any station, 50. the description of, 51. 

Dress, reforms and their fads, 272; consolation 
in being well dressed, 48; for gymnastics must 
be loose, 343. 



Drowning, how to rescue the '. 366 

Dyspepsia, a remedy for nervous 419 



Ear, description of a perfect; the projecting, 
and how to cure; mothers and nurses to 
blame for deformed ; erysipelas developed by 
piercing the; the patent skeleton cap for out- 
standing, 216; treatment for deafness, 208; 
eczema of the, and treatment, 217; consult 
an aurist for continuous deafness; children 
subject to running from, 218; blackheads in 
the shell of, and how to expel them; living 
insects in the, and how to destroy, 220; 
treatment for hardened cerumen in the; 
toilet of the, 219; a significant feature; de- 
scription of the aesthetic; what a flabby, long, 
indicates ; a steadfast, courageous, described, 
416. 

Earache, children liable to the, 217 ; lotion for 
the, 218, Duval's cure; successful formula 
for, 219. 

Eczema, symptoms of, its cause and its result, 
145; remedies for, 147; a pomade for, 148; 
Broco formula for; affections of the eyelids 
by, and a lotion for, 149; camphorated soap 
for, 150; treatment by electricity, 166; of 
the ear, treatment for, 217. 

Electricity for treatment of rheumatism; won- 
derful in facial treatments; important in 
removing wrinkles ; shocks are blunders re- 
sulting from ignorance; in treatment for 
neuralgia, 83; treatment of baldness by, 166. 

Electrolysis, treatment by, in acne, 166; one 
case where everv hair root was killed by, 110 ; 
expense of, 108; birthmarks amenable to, 
166; a remedy for warts, moles, and other 
pigmentary disturbances, 165. 

Emaciation, diet for, described; plenty of fresh 
air to cure: helpful suggestions to cure; milk 
diet and exercise for; suitable clothing for, 
418 ; what to eat, 421 ; the right sort of exer- 
cise for, 422; a good tonic for; what might 
be drunk for, 423; feminine beauty not com- 
patible with ; tendency to; the inherited kind 
of, 417 ; nervous dyspepsia a frequent accom- 
paniment of, 419. 

Exercise, nothing can take the place of daily, 
327; with dumb-bells; for neck, 335; breath- 
ing for; fresh air for; for stooped and anae- 
mic girls, 332-, health brought by, 359; with- 
out apparatus, 340; must be taken in well 
ventilated room, 343; salient points concern- 
ing, 344; to be performed at home in one's 
bedroom, 345; necessity of persistent, 353. 

Eyebrows, beauty requirements of the; treat- 
ment for scanty; toilet of the, 527: how the 
Moorish women darken their; propriety of 
clipping the, 526; a woman's, when they 



536 



GENERAL INDEX 



indicate sentimentality, 416; what they indi- 
cate, 416 ; how to darken the; electrolysis for 
removing superfluous hairs of the, 205; toilet 
of the; when hair falls out of the; formula 
for a grower for; characteristics of the, 204; 
the Greek; heavy thick; drooping; character- 
istics of the, 203; when to darken; contrast 
between eyelashes and, 65; a bleach for, 98. 
Eyelashes, practice of clipping the, 199; that 
were white and are now a pretty brown, 39. 

Eyelids, granulated, formula for 199 

Eyes, treatment for irritated ; lotion for in- 
flamed, 525; rosemary lotion for inflamed, 
526 , healthy and well-formed, 198 ; wash for 
inflamed; formula for weak; crossed and 
squinting easily curable, 199; irritated by 
cold, wash for; inflammation of the; formulas, 
200; state of a woman's soul expressed by, 
197; changing color of, impossible; dull 
made lustrous; unnatural brilliancy of, 198; 
a telltale of nature, 197; no feature is more 
self-assertive than large and round; a sign 
of amiability; protruding, sign of poor mem- 
ory, 414; of the coquette, 415; brightener, 
formula for, 199. 



Face, a contented mind is reflected in the, 375; 
description of a woman's weatherbeaten, 
243; uncleanliness the chief cause of an 
ugly, 142; cause of lines on, 157: story told 
by lines on, 158 ; a lotion to use after steam- 
ing, 156; poor results of spasmodic cleaning 
of; value of friction on, 155; how to free 
from all superficial impurities, 153 ; amusing 
experiences of teaching a class to wash, 151; 
proper steaming of, 155; grimacing ruins 
the expression of, 227. 

Figure, the so-called new 271 

Flesh, to make firm and smooth 79 

Foot, description of a truly beautiful, 301; the 
twentieth-century kind of, 299; "Magic 
Cures" for the, should be avoided, 315; the 
martyrdom of improper care of the, 304; age 
when a girl's foot is largest; small, con- 
sidered a mark of aristocracy, but not intel- 
lect, 300; mental superiority indicated by a 
long hand and, 301; high French heels and 
a distorted, 302; Du Maurier's ideal, 303; 
the Cinderella, pnsse de mode; the length of 
a woman's skirt as a guide to the size of her; 
smallness of, a test of beauty a generation 
ago, 298; evil of narrow shoes for the, 305; 
advice for the curve of the, 304; treatment 
for burning feet, 316; remedies for tender, 
315; improvement in; gear of past decade, 
310; profuse perspiration of the, and remedy 
for, 308 ; patent leather bad for health of the, 
307; coldness of, 308; evils of Chinese shoes 



on the American; long era of tyranny of 
French heel, 299; Trilby feet that will not 
stand test of camera, 300; plain, flat, com- 
mon sense heel, 302; how to prevent ingrow- 
ing nails, 305; danger of cutting nails to the 
quick; ingrowing nails can be cured, 316; 
treatment of nerves, all of which start from 
the, 315. 

Forehead, receding, sign of mental weakness, 
406. 

Formalin, is a powerful germicide; application 
of, 232. 

Freckles, several remedies for; two classes of, 
130; not pretty; of red-haired women, 55; 
heroic remedy for; a simple lotion for; lemon 
juice for, 519; for obstinate, 518. 

G 

Girl, training for the flat-chested, 345; lotion 
for, who tans; summer, regimen for beauty, 
191; English, far-famed complexion and 
how it is attained ; summer, what to do for 
her red face ; summer, fresh air not injurious 
to her, if skin be properly protected, 192. 

Goitre, electricity as a cure for 83 

Grandmother, old type of, gone; no longer as- 
sociated with age; of to-day; fulfillment of 
splendid womanhood, 45. 

Grecian bend and tilters 252 

Grooming, nothing to do with make-up, 57; 
opposed to paints and powder, 58; the 
dowdy's utter disregard of, 50. 

Gums, wash for receding 229 

Gymnastics, Swedish movements explained, 339. 

H 

Hair, a correct shampoo for the; how to 
cleanse, and scalp, 103; how to brush, 121; 
a curline formula for, not endorsed by the 
author, but the best known to her ; artificial 
methods of curling, and many so-called curl- 
ing fluids, 115 ; the kindness of Dame Nature 
in bestowing of, 113 ; preparaiion of, before 
retiring; do not twist; remedy for falling 
out of, after fever, 105 ; a remedy for falling, 
the Jabarondi tonic for falling, 104; foreign 
remedies for falling, 106 ; curled to last three 
weeks, 116; beautiful red, 55; inability of 
bleaching the roots of; once bleached yellow, 
question how to keep it so; misery of 
bleached, 95 ; to turn bleached blonde to its 
original color, 98; a uniform color when 
using artificial preparations in the bleaching 
of; impracticable to keep, bleached one 
shade; ammonia should not be used on, 97; 
a harmless bleach for, 96; Turkish method 
of applying henna leaves to, 100; a once 
famous dye for; a dye for, 99; desire to 
change black, to silver white ; recipes given, 



GENERAL INDEX 



537 



but not endorsed; inheritance of prematurely 
gray; how to brighten and add lustre to 
muddy brown, 98; scrupulous cleanliness, 
ventilation, and friction the essential needs 
of; poor scalp circulation causes falling of; 
effect of heredity, temperament, and general 
health on; actions of the sebaceous glands 
and their effect on ; directions for washing, 
89; causes of unhealthy; harmful use of so- 
called restorers and tonics ; massage of the 
scalp beneficial in stopping the falling out 
of; effect of derangement of digestive organs 
on; coloring matters of; its mineral ingredi- 
ents, and changes with age, 90; chemical 
demonstrations in pigment of, 91; golden- 
haired beauties the praised of poets and 
painters for centuries; bondage of artificially 
acquired and maintained golden, 92; tea 
tonic for, 522. 
Hand, Balzac's views concerning the; descrip- 
tion of the artistic, 278; importance of the 
early care of the; habits destructive to 
beauty of the; proper way to wash the; treat- 
ment when soap irritates the, 279 ; lotion for 
chapped or rough ; causes of chapped ; treat- 
ment for badly chapped, 281; a wash for 
itching of; disturbance of the blood will 
cause itching of, 282 ; a remedy for whiten- 
ing; honey and almond paste for whitening; 
the formula of our grandmothers for dainty, 
290; popular lotion for whitening of the; 
washes for the, 291; how to keep soft, 292; 
a delicate emollient for tender, 288; a for- 
mula for rough ; not difficult to have tender, 
pretty, 289 ; a formula for excessive moisture 
of, 294; loose joints and shrinking flesh on, 
295; a good whitener for; how to clean 
grimed, 296 ; a lotion to be used in the 
washing of; care to be used in washing of; 
don't wear tight gloves; a lady can be told 
by the condition of the tips of her fingers; 
aging of, hastened by neglect, 295; they 
show the ravages of time, 294 ; rubber gloves 
at night, 297; pastes for chapped, 522-3. 
Happiness of family dependent on woman. 57 

Hay fever, causes and treatment for 207 

Head, how to hold the 250 

Heart, trained to sensible but never violent 
exercise, 259. 

Helen of Troy's beauty at forty-six 41 

Heredity, the legacy of scrofula and the laws of 
transmission, 146. 

Herpes, treatment of, by electricity 166 

Honey paste, an excellent compound for whiten- 
ing the hands, 281. 
Hubbard, The Mother, a penitentiary offense, 

52. 
Hydrozone, Marchand's treatment by. ... . 207 



Indigestion, formula for, which causes a red 

face after eating, 419. 

Influenza, causes and treatment for 207 

Insomnia, chronic, caused by immoderate use of 

tea and coffee, 326. 
Instruments, substitute for the cuticle knife; 

list of necessary manicure ; cost of manicure, 

283. 

J 
Jaw, transformation of a protruding, into a 

symmetrical feature, 224. 
Jewelry, when not to wear 375 

K 

Kerosene, as a hair wash 522 

L 

Lacing, tight, will sometimes j^roduce red nose, 
207. 

Lane, Catherine, case of, 456-96; general 
treatment of, 460; one day's treatment of, 
466-7; portrait of, at beginning of treatment, 
472; use of compressed oxygen in treatment 
of (ills.), 473; letters of thanks from, regard- 
ing success of treatment, 472, 475-6 ; re- 
ports of jury regarding results of treatment 
of, 470-1. 

Lehman, Mme., a living proof of the advantages 
of voice culture, 249. 

L'Enclos, Ninon de, heart affair at eighty, 41. 

Ling, movements explained 339 

Lips, description of the, 221; formula for 
chapped, 230 ; biting the, 227. 

Liquid, bath, recipe for 72 

Lotion, astringent, formula for, 248; simple 
summer, formula for, 194. 

Luxuries, mistaken ideas of 66 

M 

Maids, the high-collared, trimmest and crispest, 
256. 

Man, when he selects a wife, 406 ; when badly 
cheated, 51. 

Manicuring, origin of ; first performed for King 
Louis Philippe ; implements required for the 
French system, 283; how to be your own; the 
value of pumice stone in; taboo liquid 
bleaches for whitening the nails; do not use 
sharp instruments for, 292; almond meal 
necessary for; use of rose paste in; proper 
method of, 293. 

Marchesi, Mme., the famous singing teacher; 
her beautiful throat at seventy, 249. 

Marks, port wine, and birth 166 

Massage, a process which originated with 
Greeks thousands of , years ago; a throat 
coaxed into a demand for exercise by, 181; 
to counteract the effects of the stiif collar, 
256; to remove a droop of the eyelid by, 177; 



538 



GENERAL INDEX 



operation on the temporal muscle; developing 
of the predominating muscle of the face by; 
a remedy for shrinking glands, emaciating 
fatty tissues and sunken cheeks; invigorating 
and rebuilding tissues by; injurious if given 
improperly, 178; how to fill out hollow cheeks 
by, 181; cream or skin food to anoint fingers 
during treatment by ; movements for remov- 
ing lines and wrinkles from the brow; ema- 
ciation causing disfigurement remedied by, 
177; to relieve a nervous headache, 121; 
restoration of sunken lines by; study of an- 
atomy necessary to knowledge of; nonsense 
of claiming many methods of; only one way, 
173; home treatment by oneself; the deriva- 
tion of; study of subject necessary before 
treating oneself by, 174; the only treatment 
for drooping corners of the mouth, 228. 
Maternity,the effect of,upon the girlish figure, 36, 
• Medici, Venus de, a perfect type of feminine 
beauty, 270. 

Melancholia, lean women inclined to 421 

Milk, best artificial, 385; how to sterilize cow's, 
389; best implements to sterilize cow's, 390. 
Millennium, when man has nothing more dis- 
creditable on his record than a stained eye- 
brow, 40. 

Moles, how to remove 164 

Monin, authority for the Kisch treatment, 253. 

Mother, the slatternly demoralizing 48 

INloth patches, our pretended resignation to, 47, 
Mouth, description of a perfect; influences of 
the, known and freely admitted, 221; " Show 
me his mouth," 197; a beautiful; the key- 
stone for beauty building; disease fatal to 
the beauty of teeth, 222 ; cure for a slobber- 
ing ; bad habit of making, 227 ; formula for 
myrrh and borax wash for the, 230; beware 
of the rosebud; of truthfulness and justice; 
the conceited, has a short upper lip, 406. 
Muscles, exercise for developing the 248 

N 

Nsevi, birthmarks, how to remove 166 

Nails, care of the; biting of the, 279; use of a 
stick of orange wood in caring for the ; bad 
method of manicuring the, 284; moons on 
the, indications of physical strength; press 
the skin around the, gently away after wash- 
ing, 293; bad effects of using acids on; Sitts' 
logical suggestions of treatment of; perni- 
cious practice of cutting selvage from the, 
284; vinegar and lemon juice recommended 
for the, 287; what the white flecks mean on 
the, 293; two formulas for making powder 
for the, 294; to remove spots from the, 296 ; 
how to obtain the graceful oval form of the; 
daily care necessary for the ; causes of sore 
and unsightly fingers and "cracking " of sel- 
vage about the, 287. 



Narcotics, the most awful of all the demons 
that conspire to destroy a woman, 325. 

Nature provides for the baby, 384; skimpy to 
some of us, 39. 

Neck and throat, relaxed muscles of, painful to 
manipulate; relaxed condition of, a sign of 
age, 181. 

Neck, movements for reducing double chin, 257; 
effect of sea bathing on the, 251; its full 
splendor after thirty; girlish beauty of a, 
youthful, 248; description of a perfect, 249; 
of a high-bred woman; of woman of lower 
origin; bands; present fashion ruinous to 
beauty of the; result of using metal trim- 
mings about the, 250. 

Negrier, Dr., of Tangiers, his discovery in 
treatment of nose bleed, 214. 

Nerves, cause of perspiration of the hands, 287. 

Nose, formula for red, 207; description of the 
perfect ; crooked can unquestionably be made 
straight, 211; shiny and oily, treatment for, 
210; red, treatment for; formula for itching 
of the; Augagnem's remedy for; catarrh of 
the, treatment for, 209; daily care of the, 
will lengthen and straighten ; the pug, not 
attractive, and unnecessary, 212; how to 
arrest bleeding from the; the Greek, de- 
scribed; aquiline, of the conqueror, 413; 
Roman, a good type; swelling of the; treat- 
ment for the, 414; cruelty denoted by some, 
413; when the most perfect modeled is a 
trial; the red blotchy, or shiny, 206; red, 
sullenly accepted, 47. 

o 

Obesity, diet for, 426; no woman need suffer 
from, 29; some flesh-reducing methods; kind 
of exercise recommended for, 426; scientific 
treatment of, 425; regulating the diet for; 
normal condition of health, 429; causes of; 
the age at which one begins to get stout, 
428; suitable clothing for, 438; rub your 
arms and cheeks each day, 432; bodily exer- 
cise of great importance, 431; the cure of, 
not an empty fad ; a tendency of stout people 
to eat and sleep, 433; methods of Dr. Swen- 
inger, Say, Ebstein, and Saulsbury, 427. 

Ointment, carbolated, formula 217 

Opium, one of the ingredients of sleeping 
draught a form of, 325. 

Ovarian troubles, electric baths often a specific 
for, 83. 

Oxygen, for consumption, inhalation of com- 
pressed, 254. 

P 

Pads, a warning word, no dressmaker of renown 
will at present countenance them, 252; 
responsible for many diseases; consumption 
breeders, 253. 



GENERAL INDEX 



539 



Patti, Adelina, a woman who will never be old, 

42. 
Perfume, the delicate fragrance of the violet; 
formula for lavender water, Florida water, 
and West India bay rum, 446; those ob- 
tained from animals, Frangipani a composite, 
445 ; a formula for extract essence of rose, 
444; formula for cologne water, 451; a for- 
mula for making rose sachet powder, violet, 
and heliotrope; sachet powder made from 
flowers, 448 ; lavender water to prevent con- 
tagious maladies ; aromatic essences that will 
destroy germs ; danger lurks in flower scents ; 
fastidious women and their selection of, 454; 
the abuse of, potpourri ; how to make; vanilla 
bean basis for heliotrope, 453; formula for 
"fictitious" violet water, formula for ex- 
tract of pink, 452; formula for lavender 
smelling salts, 451; formula for making in- 
cense; formula for sweet-scented pastilles 
for burning, 450 ; sachet powder for scenting, 
peau d'Espagne, of white rose, a dress closet 
sachet, 447 ; every flower claimed to be rep- 
resented in; only half a dozen flowers which 
really yield ; use of, in Roman church ; oils 
which were called precious in the days of 
Moses, 441; a method of making your own, 
443. 

Personal, a letter, written from private hospital, 
323 ; my very pleasant task to offer sugges- 
tions, 49. 

Perspiration, abnormal condition of; a lotion 
for the, of the hands, 165. 

Physical culture, for reducing flesh, 350; several 
good books on ; handbook of light gymnastics, 
336; dumb-bell exercise described, 343. 

Pictures in this book all from living subjects, 
33. 

Pimples, most repulsive of skin ailments, 142; a 
lotion for, 148. 

Plainness, no virtue in 46 

Playfair, celebrated doctor, discusses infant 
feeding, 385. 

Poitiers, Diane de, a siren at fifty-six 41 

Pomade, a method for making 443 

R 

Recamier, Julie, lovely at sixty 41 

Respiration, how to produce artificial 367 

Ringworm, to cure 518 

Rooms, often unfit for the purpose to which 
they are put, 371. 

Rose fever, causes and treatment for 207 

Running, grace and health gained by 358 

s 

Scalp, a tonic for, 520; keeping healthy, 103; 
how to prevent baldness of the ; massage of 
the; directions for performing the operation; 



the movements, etc., shown by illustrations; 
nourishment and ventilation necessary for 
the imperfect circulation of the, 121. 

Scars, left by wound or ulcer; treatment of, 167; 
vaccination, 248. 

Scrubbing brushes, my respect for them .... 49 

Shoes, proper care of, 310 ; high-heeled French, 
252; how to get a fit, 315; avoid short, 316. 

Shoulders of perfect loveliness described; square 
not pretty nor womanly, 250; no woman can 
have any style with stoop; how to cure round, 
346. 

Silver, nitrate of, in treatment for removal of 
smallpox scars, 168. 

Sirens, waist, measures of historic 271 

Sitts, his method of manicuring proper, 283; 
the original manicure anecdotes concerning 
Mme., descendant of, 282. 

Skin, formula for removing yellow stains from, 
257. 

Skin, to soften the face, 513; blotchy, 514; en- 
larged pores, 518; neglect of soap and water 
creates blackheads in the, 66; tendency to 
dry; soap paste, formula for; when drawn; 
cream and lotion for, 193; when coarse and 
inclined to be rough; formula for lotion, 245- 
lotion for slight irritation of .the, 247; starch 
used in some laundries will affect the; change 
of texture in the, 256 ; a lecture by the author 
on the, 144; hideous cases of diseases of the, 
and the cause ; effect of American climate on 
the; constant process in change in the, 143; 
value of pure soap on the; value of proper 
treatment by men of the, 140; small percent- 
age of healthy, 142; yellow spots on the, and 
remedy for, 136; food to nourish the cuticle, 
349 ; moth patches on the, and remedy for, 
136 ; pigmentary stains of the, 132 ; formula 
of a celebrated French beauty for the clear- 
ing of the; effect of diet on the, 128; out- 
break of Spring pimples on the; the removal 
of blemishes from the, 127 ; twenty million 
dollars annually expended for the improve- 
ment of the ; only forty per cent, free from 
blemishes of the, 125 ; a nourishing food for 
the; remarkable functions of the, 174; effect 
of nitrate of silver on the ; dangerous experi- 
ments of amateurs on the, 169; derogatory 
effect of soap on, 154; a formula for a bad, 
149; loaded with solid matters, 66; a good 
lotion for, 508; for relieving irritation of the, 
510; formula for relaxed; formula for shiny; 
lotion for an oily, 512; a dry and scaly, 513. 

Sleep, how to; time which should be given to; 
woman's looks affected by want of, 371; pro- 
per position for, 373 ; every working woman 
owes herself a room apart for, 377. 

Smallpox, marks of, how to remove 168 



540 



GENERAL INDEX 



Soap, formula for rosebud, 518; list and usage 
of medicated, 528; compositions of a pure, 
75; must be pure, 66; proper cost of pure, 69. 

Sores, cold; formula for ointment for 230 

Spinach, a spring medicine and beautifier . 196 

Strawberry, paste, to refresh the complexion; 
formula for; -water, in high repute as a cos- 
metic; formula for, 195; -vinegar, a delicious 
and stimulating lotion, formula for, 196; 
-cream, formula for; delicious basis for cos- 
metics, 194; toilet vinegar of, recipe, 79. 

Sugar, most effective of all f atteners ...... 420 

Sunburn, formula for, 135; how to prevent and 
how to cure; spring winds and sun resulting 
in, 133 ; good cream from cucumbers ; recipe 
for, 191. 

Superfluous hair, disfigurement from; the 
" moustache," 107; causes of, still a mystery, 
108; one of the best-known formulas for the 
removal of. 111; the old-fashioned tweezer 
method of removing, 112. 

Swedish, exercises must be begun moderately, 
353; system of gymnastics; description of, 
339. 

Swimming, all girls should learn the art of, 360 ; 
how to learn without a master, 361 ; instruc- 
tions in, 362. 

Swimming, floating the first step in the art of, 
361. 

Sylphs that are really known about 270 

T 

Tan, a formula for 135 

Teeth, hardening of the structure of, under 
the enamel, 232; missing ones fatal to a 
woman's looks, 237; description of trans- 
plantation of, 244; description of the im- 
plantation of, 238; description of replanta- 
tion of, 242; formula for powder for, 377; an 
excellent powder, formula for, 226; to be 
minus a front, was a brand of degradation, 
229 ; artificial, which really do defy detection, 
222; far too precious to tamper with; 
straightening of, description of one child's 
torture; much depends on the care of baby's, 
225 ; crowded first show evidence, 231 ; cor- 
recting irregularities of; caution as to ex- 
traction of, 232; filling of, without display 
of gold, 234; requisites for perfect artificial; 
natural effects produced by artificial; mis- 
shapen; how they can be corrected; stained 
with iron, how to bring back to natural 
color, 235; correction of the, in adults; how 
a crowded condition of, may be overcome, 
233; artificial, require an adept, 236; a tell- 
tale of a woman's age, 237; folly of extract- 
ing sound, 241; meaning of uneven; the girl 
with the happy-go-lucky; irregular, indicate 
poorly-balanced nature, 41 ; when they indi- 
cate uncertain temper; long and narrow, 



indicate ill health; when they show incon- 
stancy, 409; a violet dentifrice for, 378. 

Temperance, without it a woman's beauty will 
never last beyond the early thirties, 40. 

Theories, "I do not advance theories, but 
demonstrate facts in what I say," 29. 

Throat, how to maintain the firmness and beauty 
of the; how to develop thin and scrawny, 
249; beauty-destroying creases in the fair, 
255; formula for discolored, 251; exercises 
for, 357; circles around the, 250. 

Time, its impress on the face and form; the 
hygienic method of defying, 48. 

Toilet remedies (Appendix C ), witch-hazel 
cream, 499; aromatic vinegar, 500; for mos- 
quito stings; for ivy poison; orange-flower 
lotion, 500; French milk of roses; cucumber 
cream; for blackheads, 501; lotion for re- 
moving freckles; cure for parasites; cure for 
confluent acne; a remedy for boils; skin 
food, 502 ; marshmallow lotions for distended 
veins; to remove moth patches; to whiten 
the hands; a remedy for baldness, 503; po- 
made for moist skin; soap julep for shampoo; 
fruit vinegar for the toilet ; Oriental method 
for darkening the eyelids; simple tincture 
of benzoin, 504 ; aromatic vinegar, imitation 
lily of the valley, jelly of roses, 505; home- 
made bay rum, honey of violets, spirits of 
camphor, Florida water, cologne water, 506 ; 
strawberry vinegar, orange-flower water, 
Esprit de rose, chapped lips, delicate face- 
powder, 507. 

Toothache, a cure for the 230 

Transformation of plain women into " daughters 
of the gods," 65. 

u 

Ugliness in girl or woman 52 

Untidiness, nothing so fatal to a girl's chances, 
55. 

V 

Veins, distended; treatment of the; other forms 
of treatment; electricity safest, 166; red, on 
the nose; treatment for, 212. 

Venus, the bracelet of 255 

Vertigo, what to do when attacked in the water 
by, 366. 

Vinegar milk, when to use, formula for. . . 194 

w 

Waist, revival of the wasp, 271; squeezing 
period of the ; the cultivated, of the Venus 
de Medici, 269 ; slender, is pretty ; square, is 
deforming, 272. 

Wales, The Prince of, and his manicure . . . 282 

Walk, exercise for attainment of a graceful, 353. 

Windburn, remedy for, 134; another formula 
for, 135. 

Wisdom, to be as lovely as one can 56 



SPECIAL INDEX OF RECIPES AND REMEDIES 



541 



Wives, mistaken when they allow themselves to 
become dowdy, 51 ; who are careless are de- 
moralizing, 48. 

Woman, every, can make herself a picture; 
necessity at every age for scrupulous care 
and cleanliness, 52 ; her face reflects her life, 
interesting case cited, 321; warned against 
the use of the glass cup, 235; measurements 
of the perfect, 258; the fat, is repellent, 417; 
let us not abuse the freedom of the new, 244; 
description of a new, 243; her chances ruined 
by decayed teeth, 224; nervous, hysterical, 
of to-day, 271; who laces herself into the 
shape of an hour-glass; tightly laced who 
imagines herself sylphlike, 270; as old as 
she looks, 41 ; no necessity for her growing 
old, 42; patience taken to convince her; ac- 
countable to herself, 46; happiest when 
charming, 48; the dowdy should never marry, 
50; grave mistake of neglecting her looks; 
danger of being penny-wise, 51 ; the drudge 
and dowd a degenerate, 52; description of a 
well-groomed, 57; a beautiful grandmother; 
danger of losing her husband's love, 60; an 
awakening at five and forty; old idea of mid- 
dle age, 59; can get back youth she has lost, 
64; who by design makes herself conspicuous, 
96; elocution or singing recommended for 
narrow-chested, 423; who are slaves to the 



peroxide bottle, 92; of sixty-five to-day as 
compared to the woman of forty a genera- 
tion ago, 108; pays middle-age, to be well 
groomed, 58; over fifty may recover the ap- 
pearance of youth; a statement intended for 
all under thirty, 45; types of, who defy her, 
42; beautiful, have made history; the beauti- 
ful, most powerful, 46; may call a halt on 
time; can undo ravages of past, 49; happier 
and better if they keep their good looks; 
young and beautiful at fifty, 45; schedule 
of her good and bad points, 262; German 
writer's requirements for the perfect, 261; 
the emancipation of, 299; of business; the 
toilet of, 376; beauty and health for; appro- 
priate dress of the business, 374 ; night toilet 
of the business, 376. 
Wrinkles, methods of removing, 237; a lotion 
for preventing, 432; no woman need have, 
29 ; made by laughing not a cause for distress, 
177; a technical definition of, 157; massage 
after Swedish system only reliable method 
of removing, 170 ; linen bands for the treat- 
ment of, 163; a pomade and lotion for the 
removal of, 163-4 ; age at which one should 
expect; character reading by, 161; a formula 
for; when they may be properly considered 
premature • a so-called new French cure for, 
162. 



SPECIAL INDEX OF RECIPES AND REMEDIES 



Acne confluent, cure for, 502; muUuscum, 
treatment for, 141 . 

Almond meal for the hands 280 

Almond paste for the hands 290 

Alum eyewash 200 

Amandine for the hands 280 

Antiseptic tooth wash 223 

Aromatic bath for nervous women 83 

Aromatic vinegar 500-5 

Arms, The, lotions for whitening 245-6 

Aurora lotion 164 

Babies, diet for, when brought up by hand. 386 

Bad breath, pastilles for 224 

Band treatment for wrinkles 162-3 

Baldness, simple remedies for 524-5 

Bald spots, remedies for 503, 520 

Bath, the aromatic, 209; for nervous women, 83; 
aromatic vinegar for, 500; gelatine, 84; liquid, 
72; of beauty; of the aristocracy, 84; per- 
fume for; toilet water for, 76. 



Bay rum, how to make at home 506 

Beauty cream for the skin 194 

Benzoin, simple tincture of 504 

Birthmarks, treatment for 166 

Blackheads, formulas for treatment, 511; new 

remedies for, 139, 501; obstinate, treatment 

for, 139. 

Boils, applications to scatter 502 

Bran and almond meal bags 71 

Brandy eye wash 200 

Breasts, The, treatment to reduce 253 

Burns and scalds, treatment of 524 

Bunions, treatment for 319 

Bust, The, formula to make firm 254 

Camphor, spirits of 506 

Carbolated ointment for the ear 217 

Castor-oil hair tonic 105 

Chapped lips, cure for 507 

Chilblains, glycerine jelly for, 288; treatment 
for, 319. 



542 



SPECIAL INDEX OF RECIPES AND REMEDIES 



Cold sores, ointment for 230 

Cologne water, 451; common , .... 506 

Complexion, The, lotion for 509, 511 

Corns, prescriptions for. , 319 

Creme de pistache 510 

Cucumber cream 191-2, 501 

Cucumbers, use of, as a complexion beautifier, 
514. 

Curliue, formula for 115 

Curling fluid, permanent 118 

Dandruff, lotion for, 101; preventive of, 103; 
shampoo for, 103. 

Delcroix's poudre subtile 247 

Dentifrice (Eau Botot) 229 

Depilatories 110-2 

Duval's earache cure 219 

Earache, Duval's cure for, 219; lotions for. 218 
Ear, The, carbolated ointment for, 217; to soften 

cerumen in, 219. 

Eau Botot, dentifrice 229 

Eczema, Broco formula for, 149; camphorated 

soap for, 150; chronic, mixture for, 149; 

lotions for, 148; of the eyelids, lotion for, 

149; of the scalp, remedy for, 104; pomade 

for, 148. 

Esprit de Rose 507 

Eyelids, eczema of, 149; to darken the 504 

Eye brightener 199 

Eyebrows, ointment for 204 

Eye salve 200 

Eyes and eyebrows, formulas for treatment of, 

525-7. 
Eyewash, 199; from tea leaves, 199; of alum; 

of brandy; of witch hazel; of zinc, 200. 
Extract of pink 452 

Face bleach, formula for 136 

Face powder, 439; delicate 507 

Face, The, liquid whitener for, 438; liquid 

rouge for, 440; steaming, lotion after, 156. 

Falling hair, Lassar's treatment for, 106; 

Moniji's remedy for, 106; tonic for, 104. 
Feet, The, powder for profuse perspiration of 
319. 

Fever blisters, ointment for 230 

Florida water 446, 506 

Fossati cream for pimples 127 

Freckles, antiphelic remedy for removing, 502; 
cream for, 131; hydrozone and glycozone 
treatment for, 133 ; lotion for, 131 ; obstinate, 
treatment for, 518; obstinate, formula for 
removing; ointment for, 132; remedy for; 
simple lotion for; use of lemon juice in 
eradicating, 519. 

French milk of roses 499 

Fruit vinegar 504 



Gelatine bath 84 

Glycerine jelly for chilblains 288 

Hair, dry, lotion for, 521; dry, treatment for, 
520; dye, 99; falling, remedy for, 104-5; 
falling, tonic for, 519; oily, tonic for, 521; 
tea tonic for, 522; tonics for, 521; wash, 
kerosene, 522. 
Hands, chapped, pastes for, 522-4; almond 
meal for, 280; almond paste for, 290; bran 
and oatmeal water for, 294; cocoa cream 
cerate for, 291; emollient for, 288; honey 
paste for, 281; lotion for (Vigier), 281; lotion 
for whitening, 290; paste for, 280, 288; 
remedy for profuse perspiration of, 287; 
skin-feeding ointment for, 289 ; formula for 
whitening, 503; wash for itching, 282. 

Heliotrope, sachet powder 452 

Henna leaves for the hair 99-100 

Honey paste for the hands, 281; for the skin, 

193, 251. 
Hungary water for the bath 76 

Incense, formula for 450 

Infants, general rules for feeding 385 

Insects, bites of, remedies for 525 

Ivy, poisoning from, to cure 500 

Jabarondi tonic for falling hair 104 

Jelly of roses 505 

Kisch treatment to reduce the breasts 253 

Lavender smelling salts, 451; toilet water. 446 

Lily of the Valley, imitation 505 

Lip salve 230 

Liver spots, lotion for 517 

Marshmallow lotion for distended veins . . . 501 

Milk vinegar 194 

Moles, how to remove 164 

Mosquito stings, cure for 500 

Moth patches, application for, 136; to remove, 

503. 
Mouthwash, of myrrh and borax 230 

Nail powders 294 

Neck, The, to remove collar marks from . . 257 

Ninon de L'Enclos, beautifier 509-10 

Nose, bleeding from, to stop, 213; oily, treat- 
ment for, 210; red, treatment for, 206-7; 
shiny, treatment for, 210. 

Ointment for freckles 132 

Orange-flower lotion, 500 ; water 507 



'm 



^333 



SPECIAL INDEX OF RECIPES AND REMEDIES 



543 



Palms, lotion for moist 294 

Parasites, cure for, 502; remedy for 102 

Pastilles for burning, formula for 450 

Peroxide of hydrogen treatment 96-8 

Pimples, Fossati cream for 127 

Pommade Grecque 163 

Pores enlarged, treatment for 518 

Red nose, syrups for, 209; treatment for. 206-7 

Ringworm, cure for 518 

Rose, smelling salts, 415; sachet powder, 448; 
extract essence of, 444. 

Roses, milk of, 509; jelly of 505 

Rouge, formula for 439 

Sachet powder, rose, 448; violet, 449; heliotrope, 
452. 

Salivation, formula for too abundant 227 

Salve for inflamed eyes 200 

Scald head, treatment of 404 

Scalp, eczema of, 104; method of cleaning, 103; 
tonic for, 520. 

Scars, treatment for removal 167 

Shampoo, recipe for, 522 ; soap julep for . . . 504 
Skin, The, astringent lotion for, 248; astringent 
pomade for, 504; blotchy, wash for, 514; 
dry and scaly, wash for, 134 ; dry and scaly, 
lotion for, 513 ; eruptions, remedies for, 525 ; 
healing lotions for, 135; honey paste for, 
251 ; lotion for irritated, 247; lotion to soften, 
513; oily, formulas for treatment of, 512-3; 
powder to relieve irritation of, 510; relaxed, 
formula for treatment of; shiny, treat- 
ment of, 512; to remove yellow spots on, 136; 
food, 102, 502; food for, without lanolin, 512; 
lotion, 508. 



Smallpox marks, treatment of 511 

Smelling salts, rose, 451 ; lavender 451 

Soaps, medicated, list of, 528-9; rosebud.. 516 

Spermaceti, emulsion of 508 

Strawberry cream 194-5 

Strawberry paste, 195; vinegar, 196, 507; water, 
195. 

Sulphur and molasses 503 

Sunburn, cucumber cream for 191-2 

Tan, lotion for 191 

Tea eyewash 199 

Toilet lotion, 508; vinegar of strawberries, 79; 

water to make flesh smooth, 79. 

Toothache cure 230 

Tooth powders, 266-7, 377 ; wash, antiseptic for 

oifensive breath, 223; washes for reducing 

gums, 229. 

Veins, distended, lotion for 501 

Venus cream for chapped face 134 

Vigier's remedy for parasites 102 

Violet dentifrice, 378; water, fictitious, 452; 
honey of, 506; sachet powder, 449. 

Warts, treatment for 164 

West India bay rum 446 

Witch hazel eyewash, 200; cream 499 

Wrinkles, lotion for preventing, 432 ; lotion for 
removing, 516-7; new cures for, 162, 514; 
premature, lotion for, 517; recipe for ob- 
literating, 511. 



Zinc eyewash. 



200 



1/ / 




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